Brewing Storm
by Rowanclaw24
Summary: The story of four kits born to Frostflower and Firewhisker in IceClan- Noble Acornkit, brave Amberkit, bratty Cloverkit, and innocent Ryekit all navigate life in the midst of rising tensions, and possibly most dire of all, a mysterious prophecy that might grant them great power, or destroy them from within. First story, rated T because... Warriors. FINAL BATTLE NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

Allegiances of the Mountain Clans

IceClan

 _Wind of the fur, rock of the paw, falcon of the hunt, thick of the fur, proud of the heart_

Leader-

Flintstar, a dark brownish black, thick and fuzzy-haired tom with amber eyes

Deputy-

Squirrelfeather, a light sandy-haired she-cat with green eyes.

Medicine Cat-

Yarrowspring, a reddish-brown tabby tom with massive ear tufts and light green eyes. Apprentice, Goldenpaw

Warriors-

Heronsky, a light golden splotched she-cat with light orange eyes.

Crowfoot, light amber tom with amber eyes. Mate, Appletail

Redclaw, small dark amber tom with yellow eyes. Mate, Flightspirit

Juniperwhisker, huge bluish grey mottled tom with blue eyes.

Stormfire, white tom with red speckles and green eyes. (Once rouge)

Driftcloud, small light grey and white mottled she-cat with blue eyes. Apprentice, Nettlepaw

Squirrelwhisker, beige tom with red markings and amber eyes.

Flowerhop, a light orange tabby she-cat with yellow eyes.

Flamewhisker, dark ginger tabby tom with amber eyes.

Streamwing, a light grey she-cat with blue eyes.

Crowpelt, a tiny tom with pitch-black long, curly hair and green eyes. Mate, Roseclaw.

Brindlestem, a brown tabby she-cat with grey paws.

Briarstep, a black she-cat with bright green eyes.

Bramblecloud, a pure white tom with blue eyes.

Fernfang, tough tortishell she-cat with green eyes.

Cherrytail, tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes.

Apprentices

Goldpaw, a golden tabby she-cat medicine car apprentice with medium fur and amber eyes

Nettlepaw, a white-furred she-cat with golden spots, tail, and ears, as well as three black paws and dark blue eyes.

Queens and kits

Frostflower, white she-cat with pale green eyes and a black tail. Mate, Flamewhisker. Kits, Acornkit, light grey patched tabby she-kit with pale green eyes, Cloverkit, pretty dark grey she-kit with pale green eyes, Ryekit, dark brown tabby tom-kit with white paws and pale green eyes, and Amberkit, light amber she-cat with pale green eyes.

Roseclaw, dark brown tabby with pale green eyes. Mate, Crowpelt. Kits, Hopkit, a dark grey tom with amber eyes and Leapkit, a brownish black tom with amber eyes

Flightspirit, fleet-footed white she-cat with blue eyes. Mate, Redclaw. Kits, Aspenkit, white and amber tabby-patched tom with green eyes, Treekit, dark brown tabby with green eyes

Appletail, dark sandy mottled tabby she-cat with green eyes. Mate, Crowfoot. Kits, Dovekit, pretty light grey she-kit with blue eyes, Eaglekit, brown tabby tom with white paws and tail tip with yellow eyes, Hawkkit, sandy mottled tabby she-kit with a white underbelly

Elders

Shrewnose- brown tom with black tabby markings and amber eyes

Mothpelt- black and grey mottled she-cat with a grey muzzle

Brookfur- grey she-cat with ginger paws

*All IceClan cats are very large with thick, long fur unless otherwise specified.

PineClan

 _Pine of the land, Nimble of the paw, Squirrel of the hunt, Dark of the fur, Loyal of the heart_

Leader:

Ashstar- stunningly pretty grey and black spotted tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy:

Vinespot- dark brown and white tom with a long tail and green eyes.

Medicine Cat:

Riversong- black and brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors: (toms and she-cats without kits)

Ferntail- tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Berryfrost- black tom with pink nose and green eyes

Ivyfang- black and grey tabby she-cat with green eyes

Flamespeckle- tortoiseshell and black tom

Dawnfeather- ginger she-cat with blue eyes

Oakstream- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Squirrelclaw- grey and white tom with amber eyes

Rosefang- black and white she-cat with blue eyes

Splashfur- dark brown tom with bright blue eyes

Palefern- cream colored she-cat with green eyes and silky fur

Toadstreak- black tom with a white streak on his back, olive eyes

Loudstream- tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Mudtail- dark brown tom with amber eyes

Sootheart- dark grey tom with green eyes

Queens\- (she-cats with kits)

Shredtail- pale brown she-cat with olive eyes. Mate, Splashfur. Kit(s): Poolkit- grey she-kit with blue eyes.

Quailflower- grey and black she-cat with blue eyes. Mate, Berryfrost. Kits, Nutkit, ginger tom with white tail tip, Fawnkit, brown she-kit with amber eyes, Meadowkit, light brown she-kit with blue eyes.

LightningClan

 _Low of the land, Quick of the paw, Robin of the hunt, Short of the fur, Strong of the heart_

Leader

Blossomstar, light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Deputy

Pebbleflower, dark grey leopard-spotted tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Medicine Cat

Sweetspring, light calico she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors

Plumwhistle, dark ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

Swanbreeze, light grey tabby with blue eyes.

Gorsenose, ginger tom with amber eyes.

Grassfur, light brown spotted tabby tom.

Brownear, white tom with blue eyes and brown ears.

Greeneye, black tom with green eyes. Apprentice, Whisperpaw

Blacktail, light grey tabby she-cat with dark tail bands and blue eyes.

Redspots, white tom with splotched ginger patches and amber eyes.

Bluetoe, grey-blue she-cat with one white paw. Apprentice, Quietpaw

Buzzardface, splotchy calico she-cat with green eyes.

Brackenfang, tortishell she-cat with green eyes.

Mountainflower, grey she-cat with lighter paws and tail with green eyes.

Hillwhisker, flame-point siamese tom with amber eyes.

Sparrowtail, light brown mackerel tabby tom with green eyes.

Emberheart, dark grey tom with black tabby markings and blue eyes.

Thistlestripe, light tan tabby tom with amber eyes.

Apprentices

Whisperpaw, light grey mackerel tabby she-cat with blue eyes. Mentor, Greeneyes

Quietpaw, light grey classic tabby she-cat with blue eyes. Mentor, Bluetoe

Queens

Stoneleaf, black she-cat with lighter patches and blue eyes. Mate, Emberheart. Kits, Mousekit, calico she-kit with blue eyes, Rabbitkit, dark grey leopard-spotted tom with blue eyes, Harekit, dark grey, almost black tom with blue eyes.

Shrewfur, older brown she-cat with white patches and yellow eyes. Expecting Gorsenose's kits.

Elders

Thrushflight, unusual marbled grey tom with blue eyes

Robinfeather, tan and brown spotted tabby she-cat with amber eyes

WillowClan

 _Wet of the land, silent of the paw, fish of the hunt, slick of the fur, sweet of the heart_

Leader:

Plumstar, small light grey she-cat with amber eyes.

Deputy:

Seedfur, small white and red tabby tom with no tail and yellow eyes.

Medicine Cat:

Creekeye, white tom with darker tabby markings and chest blaze with blue eyes. Apprentice, Cloudypaw

Warriors:

Watertail, blueish tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

Buzzardnose, dark ginger tabby with white underbelly and yellow eyes.

Birdflight, light cream-colored tabby with green eyes.

Hawkfur, brown tom.

Owlpelt, white tom with black spots.

Minnowheart, light ginger tabby tom. Apprentice, Sagepaw

Trouteye, grey tom. Apprentice, Juniperpaw

Russetblaze, reddish brown tabby tom with white tail and green , Bouncingpaw

Lionfur, cream tom with green eyes. Apprentice, Leapingpaw

Leopardspot, reddish she-cat with blue eyes and rosettes. Apprentice, Jumppaw

Tigerflight, dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. Apprentice, Springpaw

Shellstripe, black tom with light blue eyes.

Lakefur, white she-cat with blue eyes and a grey-tipped paws and tail.

Robinwing, dark gray tabby she-cat with yellow eyes.

Dovefeather, light grey she-cat with pale blue eyes.

Jayflight, white tabby tom with black splotches and blue eyes.

Ravenheart, black she-cat with blue eyes.

Willowclaw, cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

Heathershine, calico she-cat with amber eyes.

Vinetail, brown mackerel tabby tom with green eyes and a long tail.

Ivytail, brown spotted tabby tom with green eyes and a long tail.

Apprentices:

Cloudypaw, white she-cat with darker tail and ears. Mentor, Creekeye

Bouncingpaw, dark mackerel tabby tom with dark amber eyes. Mentor, Russetblaze

Leapingpaw, dark grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes. Mentor, Lionfur

Jumppaw, dark grey she-cat with blue eyes. Mentor, Leopardspot

Springpaw, cream tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. Tigerflight

Sagepaw, white she-cat with small calico spots with amber eyes. Mentor, Minnowheart

Juniperpaw, white she-cat with small calico spots and blue eyes. Mentor, Trouteye

Queens:

Birchshine, brown queen. Mate, Minnowheart. Kits, Stormkit (ginger tabby she-kit), Mistkit (brown she-kit), Rainkit (ginger she-kit)

Oakfall, brown tabby queen. Mate, Trouteye. Kits, Windykit (pale grey she-kit), Drizzlekit (dark ginger tabby she-kit), Slushkit, (grey she-kit)

Elders:

Foxfang, reddish brown tabby tom.

Wolftooth, light grey tabby she-cat

Pricklefur, white tom with black splotches

Stripefur, spotted tabby she-cat

End of Allegiances…

Chapter 1

Amberkit blinked as the whirling snow flew into her eyes. She crawled out of the warm nursery into the tundra-like terrain. Glancing back she saw a massive fluffy pile, _Acornkit, Ryekit, Cloverkit; That's everyone!_ Amberkit thought to herself. Frostflower's white pelt stood out in the pile, her paws scrabbling against the stone walls of the den as she slept. Amberkit unsheathed her claws, as another gust of wind blasted the camp. Turning away, she looked into the snowy world outside. Quickly making the decision to go explore, Amberkit braced herself as a sharp wind blasted her a few steps back, but nonetheless, Amberkit ducks her head and fought her way through the blizzard. Yawning, she shaked her pelt and snowflakes went flying everywhere. She sat down at a sheltered corner of the camp, wrapping her fluffy tail around her small paws as she watched the deputy, Squirrelfeather organize patrols. "Juniperwhisker, Cherrypaw, Driftcloud," The ginger she-cat spoke with authority and confidence even as the wind ripped across the rock she was standing on. "I want you to do a fast patrol around the PineClan border. Be fast, and hurry back before the blizzard really starts to pick up." Amberkit's long, ginger fur was speckled with white snow by now, and she shifted her paws. Brindlestem, Briarstep, and Bramblecloud huddled close together in front of a snow hare. Bramblecloud's white pelt disappeared as blowing snow whisked the clearing. The cold was bitter and stung worse than a fox bite, well, not that she had ever had one. Shaking her fur out, Amberkit broke into a run. _Running is the fastest way to get warm._ Amberkit's father, Flamewhisker had said so many times. As her light ginger fur flew after her, she held her tail high in the air, paws barely grazing the ground with each step. The crunching of the snow beneath her feet, the wind ripping through her fur; this was home. Running swiftly around the camp she paused when she saw a small brown body nibbling at a patch of shriveled clovers by the elders den. _A pika!_

She crouched, pale green eyes watching the creature carefully. Turning her head, she saw the fresh kill hole had a old snow hare in it, and nothing else. _A pika could help feed the clan._ Without a glance back, Amberkit ran off after it, sprinting at top speed towards it, claws gripping the rocky tundra. The fresh snow made the rocks slippery, but Amberkit was gaining on the pika. Lengthening her stride and covering more ground in each pace, she was a tail-length away. Amberkit have been faster, but the pika was much nimbler, and turning around it darted into a tiny rabbit hole, causing Amberkit to fly into a snowdrift.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ryekit opened his pale green eyes, but all he could see was white. Shaking his head, Ryekit saw a faint outline of Amberkit through the whirling snow, her eyes wide with shock and concern as she slid quickly towards him. Ryekit sprung out of the way, dragging the sleeping Cloverkit with him. He winced as Amberkit crashed into the stone wall. Cloverkit's eyes fumed with anger and then curled up in her feather nest.

Ryekit sighed and pretended to be sleeping. He heard scrabbling claws on the den, and Cloverkit was gone. Nosing Amberkit, Ryekit's eyes are glazed with worry as he examined her. _No blood. Heartbeat. Eyes blinking. She's fine._ Rolling her over with his white paws, Ryekit noses her to her feet.

Glancing at the small paw prints leading outside the den into the cold, and the back at his littermates, Ryekit shook his head.

Running swiftly after the small footprints, Ryekit opened his jaws to smell. _Fresh snow, pika and … maybe Cloverkit..._ Following the scent Ryekit broke into a steady run. _Have to find Cloverkit. Have to find Cloverkit_. After a while the tundra sloped downward and- _Oof!_ , Ryekit tripped over a rabbithole and flew into a snowdrift. Amberkit's scent was strongest here, and Ryekit knew she had been around here. Digging fiercely in the snow drift Ryekit uncovered a tuft of brown fur. A dead pika! Amberkit appeared out of the blizzard behind Ryekit.

"AMBERKIT!" Ryekit called and then paused.

"R-right h-here." The ginger she-cat was huddled under a small bush, fur fluffed up twice her size as she crawled out.

"You look like a fox!"Ryekit exclaimed. Rolling her eyes Amberkit flattened her fur.

"I slipped into the den when I came back. Then I went to follow you. The blizzard picked up when I followed you out again and I decided to shelter here." Amberkit mewed. "I caught a pika though!" Amberkit looked at a small brown body.

"I had to wait a while but it ran right past this bush." She meowed happily. Ryekit's mouth watered as the warm, inviting scent drifted into his nose.

"We better get back before the snow really picks up." Ryekit meowed.

"Okay, but is Cloverkit up?" Amberkit meowed. The thought of Cloverkit made her wince. Cloverkit was horrible, she was a brat- and that was putting it nicely. Ryekit nodded grimly.

"Let's go." Amberkit led the way up the rocky slope until the familiar scent of home flooded the air.

Chapter 3

Feeling sharp teeth on her neck, Cloverkit woke with a start and jumped out of the way, hissing viciously. Her only brother Ryekit was scampering away to Cloverkit's sister Amberkit, who was slumped against the den wall covered with snow.

"You pika-heads!" she hissed. Ryekit looked up with concern.

"I think she's OK!" he said.

"Who?" Cloverkit mewed gruffly

"Amberkit! She just came crashing in here like a bear!" Cloverkit groaned.

"Go back to bed."

"But-"

"Ryekit, you do you, I'm gonna sleep." And with that, she curled up again, probably trying to sleep again. "Ugh! What's with all of this snow?"

"I think Amberkit broke the snow when she tried to come in."

"I don't CARE about what Amberkit did. Go back to sleep." Ryekit sighed and fluffed the feathers in his nest, curled up, and went to sleep. Still bitter as always, Cloverkit stormed out of the nest, her tiny claws scratching the ice-cold rock. She was blasted by freezing air and blinding snow as she climbed out, her pale green eyes squinting against the huge snowflakes. Her dark grey pelt blowing around in the wind, she set off out of the camp, not caring about Flamewhisker's nursery tales of kits who wandered and were eaten by mountain lions. The wind suddenly blew another way, and the scents of Juniperwhisker, Driftcloud, and Cherrypaw hit Cloverkit's nose. Looking back at the camp only to see snow, Cloverkit hoped rock to rock, following the huge pawprints of the patrol. They were going to PineClan territory! Cloverkit found motivation in her lazy paws to follow them. Sprinting, she tracked them down the hill, leading to a huge rock. The prints continued below it, and there seemed to be no other way down. Cloverkit hardly thought. _I'm two moons old. I'm a warrior._ And with that, she jumped headfirst off of the boulder.

Chapter 4

"I call being the leader!" Acornkit called, scrabbling on top of a rock.

"Fine, but I wanna be it next time." Ryekit meowed.

"Ooh! I'll be Frostflower." Cloverkit mewed, wrapping her tail delicately around her paws.

"Now you want to look best for your apprentice ceremony," Cloverkit started, "Just look at you, you look like you just got chased by mountain lions!" She mewed and started to quickly groom Amberkit's unruly fur.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath LittleRock for a clan meeting." Acornkit meowed and Amberkit stifled a laugh at Acornkit's imitation of Flintstar. After Acornkit flashed her a stern glare, Amberkit focused again.

"You have reached your sixth moon. And it is time for you to become apprentices."

"I'm so proud." Cloverkit mewed, as she watched the ceremony.

"Ryekit, from this moment on forth you will be known as Ryepaw. Your mentor will be.. Uh… Juniperwhisker." Acornkit glanced at the empty place where the mentors stand. "Uhh…"

"I'll be Juniperwhisker!" Amberkit mewed excitedly, hopping over to the place where mentors stand.

"Juniperwhisker, I trust you to teach young Ryepaw your battle skills and pass on your patience and speed."

Amberkit puffed out her chest, and doing her best to imitate Juniperwhisker's deep grumble, "I will, Flintstar. You will not be disappointed." All of the kits begun to cheer, "RYEPAW! RYEPAW!" Acornkit touched her grey muzzle on Ryekit's head and then Ryekit touched noses with Amberkit.

Cloverkit, rushed over to Ryekit. "Oh, my kit. You are growing up so fast," she gushed, and then rolled her eyes. Amberkit saw Heronsky approach out of the corner of her eye.

"Hi kits." Heronsky mewed, her strong shoulders rippling. Ryekit looked at her in awe.

"Can you teach us some battle moves?" Ryekit asked eagerly. Before Heronsky could respond, Amberkit meowed, "I know one!" throwing herself on top of Ryekit and began to play-wrestle.

Chapter 5

The sun glared down onto the mountainside. The day was clear and sunny, and the snow glistened in the brief mountain spring sun. Bouncing out of the nursery, Acornkit and her littermates were now five moons old.

"Come on, Cloverkit!" Cloverkit was worse than ever for Acornkit, Ryekit, and Amberkit. Her dark grey coat seemed to be riddled with bitterness, but they could admit she was a pretty kit. There were three new litters in the nursery, born to Appletail, Roseclaw, and Flightspirit- Hopkit, Leapkit, Aspenkit, Pinekit, Treekit, Dovekit, Eaglekit, Hawkkit, and Jaykit. And even the kits were aware of the tension rising in their Clan. Flamewhisker was gone for very long periods of time, and he said it was for training and patrols. As time passed, Frostflower began leaving them alone in the nursery. "She needs to stretch her legs," said Flamewhisker whenever their mother was gone.

"Can we come, too?" asked Leapkit, Hopkit following behind her out of the nursery.

"Sure!" mewed Ryekit.

"I'm not coming if some _kits_ are allowed to join," hissed Cloverkit.

"Scared of falling down a cliff and passing out, then spending a quarter moon in Yarrowspring's den?" teased Acornkit.

"You're so MEAN!" yowled Cloverkit violently as she ran back into the nursery, tripping over a snowdrift on her way into the cave.

"Well, I guess Cloverkit's not coming!" said Leapkit. "Come on, let's go!" The kit bounced into the snow in front of them. "Tunnel game?"

"Nooooooo I wanna play tig!" groaned Amberkit.

" Here's what Cloverkit would say about that- 'that's a kit game, Amberkit!'." said Ryekit to the Amberkit, his long dark brown fur waving in the mountain breeze. Acornkit stood still as a stone, his eyes locked onto something in the distance.

"Acornkit?" Leapkit glanced at Acornkit, who was still petrified.

"Look," he hissed under his breath. "Mountain goats!" And there were certainly mountain goats. Big, white fluffy mountain goats grazing on the scarce dead alpine veggies through thick blankets of snow.

"CHERRYTAIL!" shrieked Leapkit to the pretty young tortoiseshell she-cat nearest to them.

" _WHAT?"_ Cherrytail shrieked back. "The way you're screaming, you're going to wake all of the prey from here to WillowClan territory!"

"Sorry, Cherrytail."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"Look!" mewed Amberkit. "Mountain goats- they're right there!"

"Well, I'll tell Driftcloud to tell Squirrelfeather to warn the patrols," she said, stalking off to the deputy's den.

"She wasn't to interested," sighed Leapkit. "But we are!" Acornkit, Amberkit, and Ryekit looked at her. "Right?"

"Okay. Let's go!" mewed Ryekit, on his way to bound out of the camp.

" _WAIT_!" said Acornkit with a mixture of fear and annoyance. "We can't just go bounding out of camp like a bunch of baby birds." She paused for emphasis. "We have to be _stealthy_. Follow me." Acornkit flicked her long plumey white tail as a signal.

She padded back towards the nursery, avoiding the hateful glares of Cloverkit as the band of kits passed. She knew nothing about the fun they were about to have. "Alright, everyone! Let's pretend to be playing tig, then when I call, we go out of there-" she flicked her tail to a gap between two boulders. The kits all started to imitate the game of tig- a version of tag where no one is it, it's just everyone running around tagging people shouting, "tig." After a minute, Acornkit flicked her tail to leave. The path was free.

"Acornkit! Ryekit! Amberkit! Dinner!" Ryekit turned to see their mother's pale, gentle face, calling them back to the den.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 6

The sky was grey, and the looming clouds overhead sped across the sky. Wrapping his tail tightly around his paws, Ryekit watched the stormy weather with silent misery. Cold, hard hail viciously battered the camp, covering the ground with pellets of ice. It had hailed and rained for almost a quarter moon by now, and the fresh kill piles were low. Only the strongest warriors dared to head into the cold, so the clan snuggled in their nests, trying to stay warm.

"Amberkit, Acornkit, Cloverkit," Ryekit whispered to his littermates, careful not to disturb the younger kits. Acornkit yawned and then looked up at Ryekit.

"Help me." Ryekit meowed, as he pulled a pawful of hail pebbles from outside the den, and the pushed it against the wall of the nursery.

"Frostflower won't like it if it gets in her nest, you know." Acornkit mewed but scooped a pawful of hail and piled it on top of Ryekits. Soon enough, a huge stack taller than Ryekit loomed precariously by the edge of the den.

"What is this for?" Acornkit mewed.

"Just watch." Ryekit mewed and flicked his tail. Backing up, he almost stumbled into Amberkit. Ryekit tucked in his tail and then bolted at the pile of hail and slided half-way across camp. Acornkit's eyes grew wide with surprise and excitement as she helped to gather the hail again. They took turns smashing into the pile, and soon enough the hail had stopped and the sky was clear. Ryekit mreowwed with laughter as he whispered an idea into Acornkit's ear. The gathered the hail balls one more time, this time towering them next to Amberkit and Cloverkit. With a flick of her tail, Acornkit gave the signal, and they both bolted into the pile of hail. Hail pebbles flew everywhere, blanketing Cloverkit and Amberkit as they wearily growled and got to their feet. Amberkit's eyes sparkled with revenge and Ryekit and Acornkit ran for it. Darting across the hail covered plains, Ryekit took shelter behind a boulder. The sun peeked behind a fluffy cloud and made the snow sparkle and gleam. Ryekit's dark brown pelt whipped behind him as he wind flew across the tundra. Daring to peek behind the boulder, Ryekit saw Acornkit and Amberkit searching the area.

"I think I smell him." Amberkit mewed, starting to walk towards the boulder. Ryekit, crawled slowly up the boulder, ready to spring. Amberkit and Acornkit trotted over towards the boulder but - Oof! Ryekit landed heavily on top of them, paws stretched out as if in midstride. Acornkit eyes sparkled with mischief and both Amberkit and Acornkit launched themselves at Ryekit. Trying to fight two cats at once was not easy, Ryekit concluded after he was pinned down by his two sisters.

"I'll beat you next time." Ryekit meowed, panting. "We'll be apprentices in a quarter moon, and I'll get the best warrior ever and beat you and win every time…" Ryekit rambled on as the kits headed back to camp.

Chapter 7

Pelts gleaming in the warm sun, the four kits sat in front of the Highstone. The kit's identical pale green eyes sparkled and their long fur was dazzling in the sunlight. The Clan buzzed around camp, as they awaited the ceremony. Frostflower and Flamewhisker, were already sitting on near the deputy's rock, murmuring with content.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath Highstone for a Clan meeting!" Flintstar meowed proudly, gazing down at the camp. Cats gathered around the clearing. Leapkit peered through the bushes, trying to see the ceremony.

Flintstar's gaze rested on Acornkit. "Acornkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Acornpaw. Your mentor will be Bramblecloud. I hope Bramblecloud will pass on all of his skill for hunting and stalking on to you." Acornpaw touched noses with the fluffy white warrior and purred. _I will be his first apprentice!_ Acornpaw thought contently. Bramblecloud had recently became a warrior, and he was always playing with the kits.

"Bramblecloud. I hope you pass on your bravery and your speed on to young Acornpaw. Squirrelfeather was an excellent mentor, and I hope you can teach this apprentice what she taught you." Bramblecloud nodded, his eyes filled with both excitement and fear as he looked at Flintstar.

"Amberkit. From this moment onward until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Amberpaw. Your mentor will be Briarstep." Turning towards the sleek, black-furred warrior, "I trust that you will pass on your loyalty and intelligence onto Amberpaw." The two cats stepped forward to touch each other's noses as they retreated back to where the apprentices stood.

"Cloverkit. You will now be known as Cloverpaw." Flintatar paused for a moment, looking out to something in the distance. "Brindlestem. I trust you to pass on to young Cloverkit your speed and endurance." The cats stepped to touch noses. Ryekit was left standing in the middle of the camp, all eyes on him "Ryekit, from this moment on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ryepaw. Heronsky, I trust that you will pass on your wisdom and skill for battle to this young apprentice."

"ACORNPAW! AMBERPAW! CLOVERPAW! RYEPAW!" The Clan's cheers were cast out into the cold, bright mountain air.

Ryepaw pawed together a few feathers from his old nest and a few he had collected around camp, and carefully laid them on top of the bracken nest left from when Bramblecloud, Brindlestem and Briarstep were apprentices. _Heronsky?_ Ryepaw sat puzzled. _She's so… strict. Briarstep and Amberpaw will get along so well. And so will Brindlestem and Cloverpaw. But, why did I have to get Heronsky._ Thinking back to the ceremony, the other apprentices were so happy about their mentors. _Brindlestem is bossy like Cloverpaw, Bramblecloud will be sure to get along with Acornpaw, too. Flintstar surely made some mistake, because I am nothing like Heronsky._

"Training starts tomorrow, so make sure you get lots of sleep." Heronsky meowed, her white and ginger pelt trailing behind her as she approached the apprentice's den.

"Okay." Ryekit mewed half-heartedly.

"I am going to get you up kinda early, but you will get to see the whole territory." Ryekit's eyes grew wide, and they sparkled with excitement.

"Really?" He asked.

"If we hurry, we'll be able to practice your stalking skills and learn a few defensive battle moves, too. If you aren't too tired, that is."

"That would be great! But, wait. Will my littermates come?"

"Yep." Heronsky meowed warmly.

Ryepaw purred. "I'll be the first one up in the whole camp!"

Heronsky let out a _mrreow_ of laughter. "We'll see about that." At this time, Cloverpaw emerged with Amberkit and Acornkit at her side.

"Are you excited?" Cloverkit mewed wearily to Ryepaw.

"Yeah!" Ryepaw meowed. A loud call from the woven bush barrier told them that the hunting patrol had arrived and the new apprentices trotted off to the fresh kill pile as a huge falcon was dragged into the camp with the help of three full grown warriors.

Chapter 8

Amberpaw shook the hawk feathers from her ginger fur. Ryepaw was nowhere to be found and Cloverpaw was already pacing outside the front of the den. The sun had rose high in the sky by now and the dawn patrol had already left.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Amberpaw meowed to Cloverpaw, as she nudged Acornpaw awake.

"Brindlestem told me to let you sleep." Cloverpaw grumbled as she swiped a paw over her ears.

"Let's go find our mentors." Acornpaw said, blinking heavily from the sun's obright glow. Bramblecloud, Briarstep and Brindlestem were sharing tongues outside the warrior's cave.

"We're ready." Cloverpaw mewed.

"Okay." Briarstep meowed as she led the way through the bush barrier out into the open tundra.

"Be careful," Brindlestem warned, flicking her tail at a hawk flying high above. "When you are still young, you can't take down a hawk single-pawed."

"That's why you _must_ travel with another warrior or two other apprentices until you are at least nine moons old and past your First Bird celebration." Bramblecloud added. The group traveled onwards, trotting along the narrow paths that twisted and turned along a small stream.

"It's clear!" Squirrelwhisker called as he reached the other side. The ginger tabby flung a large, flat piece of wood across to Bramblecloud. Heronsky gripped the plank firmly with her claws as she scurried across the ice. To Amberpaw's surprise, Briarstep stopped abruptly, and waited for Heronsky to cross. Briarstep signaled for Amberpaw to cross. With a reluctant look at Briarstep, he explained.

"I'll be right behind you, so if you fall in, we'll pull you out." Amberpaw gripped the wood tightly between her claws and then placed one paw after another onto the icy surface. Glancing back, Briarstep was indeed behind her, keeping the plank stable. Amberpaw sped up a little, stretching out her paw to get to solid earth. Each apprentice had their turn crossing the frozen river, their mentors right behind them. Once all the cats had gotten across, Briarstep took the lead once more, breaking into a run as they trotted down a very, very steep mountain side almost halfway down the entire mountain.

"Take a moment to smell the scent. We're at the PineClan border." A dust, coarse scent mingled with pinesap wafted into Amberpaw nose. "The journey down to the valley and the marshy willows, as well as the barn where we have our Gatherings to those WillowClan pipsqueaks is too long for young apprentices." She paused. "And I don't fancy baking in that scorching heat they have down there." In reality, the WillowClan territory was very cold for mid-May, compared to other places. But compared to the freezing winds and bright yet cold sun of the tundra, the thick willow mazes of mud, streams, lakes, moose, and fish were like standing on the sun for the tunra cats. .

Glancing over her shoulder, Amberpaw stared deep into the pines below them. _What… what was that_ , she thought. Two pairs of eyes, one yellow and the other deep emerald green stared at her from the forest. With them lurked alien, or maybe non-existent fur! Amberpaw was stunned. The thick, plumey, long, resilient coats of IceClan cats were only shared by themselves and a few kittypets. They had almost no fur to Amberpaw's eyes. The short-furred pelts of calico and dark grey darted away as they saw the patrol and Amberpaw snapped out of her trance.

"The other clans hide in their pine forests, they lurk beneath the willows. But we, we truly are the closest to the sky, and we are the first cats to smell fresh snow, the only ones to and the only cats who truly know what wind feels like beneath our fur." Brindlestem started the speech told to every apprentice in IceClan, the first time they went to the border.

"We fiercely protect our borders, and no cat may set a paw across the border without IceClan permission." Bramblecloud continued.

"So every IceClan warrior, will give their life for their Clan." Brindlestem finished. There was a moment when no cat spoke, but the silence was quickly broken by an eager call in the distance. A small, familiar, brown tabby tom, was visible as he bounded up the steep rocky cliff from the LightningClan border.

"HEY!" Ryepaw meowed, catching Amberpaw's attention. "We went all the way to the LightningClan border and the PineClan border, and then we saw the river, and the gorge." he mewed, excitement pulsing through his paws. "And now Heronsky said we'll do hunting practice with you guys and learn battle moves." Ryepaw said eagerly.

"Yup." Briarstep agreed and let Heronsky take the lead as they trotted towards the training hollow. The route was rocky and steep, but led up to a small cave with loose dirt, that thousands of claws had turned.

"Acornpaw, help me move this rock." Brindlestem meowed. Cloverpaw looked quite offended, as her mentor didn't even choose her. "Sorry Cloverpaw. Acornpaw is the strongest, I've watched her." Cloverpaw scowled as Acornpaw smirked.

"The first move, and one of the most important moves is the front claw. Go onto your hind legs, and swipe one paw at your opponent. Do your best not to lose your balance." Bramblecloud demonstrated by stretching out to swipe Briarstep. Briarstep nibley rolled backwards and stuck out all four claws to protect himself.

"Practice, everyone. Ryepaw and Acornpaw you work together. Amberpaw and Cloverpaw you work together."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 9

Sun was a new concept to Acornpaw. She and her littermates had been born in the thick of winter, when dead mountain goats would occasionally fall in the territory out of pure starvation and exhaustion to provide for the Clan and snowflakes would fall, thick, heavy, and cold. Now, only a few patches of stained brown eversnow cooled the warriors after a long day of padding on the warm boulders and alpine flowers.

"Today is one of the most critical components into the training of regime!" said Heronsky. The four apprentices watched attentively, exited. "Today we will be taking down a bird of prey." Acornpaw gasped in surprise and fear. "This is a very dangerous feat, but it is our main food source in moons where the pikas and marmots are scarce. It is critical that all of you PAY ATTENTION to what we are about to teach you." Heronsky narrowed her light orange eyes at the apprentices. "We will be joined today by you, your mentors, Cherrytail, Fernfang, and Goldenpaw." _Goldenpaw_? Thought Acornpaw. Goldenpaw was a pretty young she-cat nearly twice Amberpaw's age, who was training to become a medicine cat. _I guess she needed to learn how to hunt birds of prey_ …

"What we want to do is to play bait. Who is the smallest cat here?" Briarstep surveyed the group. "Goldenpaw. You have relatively short hair that makes you look smaller. What I want you to do is to fake dying." Goldenpaw looked at the warrior, confused. "Roll on the ground, and look weak." Briarstep turned to face the rest of the patrol. 'When the bird comes down to get Goldenpaw, we immediately start ripping the biggest feathers. Go for the eyes if you can, but DO NOT get in the way of the beak. Break bones and try to immobilize it so we can go for the killing blow. When the bird is solidly on the ground, keep on holding it down and damaging it and Heronsky and I will go for the spine."

"Why not the throat?" Amberpaw questioned. She had caught all of her marmots and pikas by slitting their throats.

"The bird's last line of defence is the beak, and one good peck to a cat will wound you seriously, if not kill. Once on the ground, the neck is exposed and impossible to defend. Any questions?" Everyone was grimly silent. "Onwards. Goldenpaw, over there on that ledge. Everyone else, scatter and hide. The bird will not come if they see Goldenpaw protected." Heronsky trotted over to Goldenpaw, showing her a large rock. Amberpaw darted into a tiny rock cave. As soon as everyone was hidden, Goldenpaw started howling in mock pain shivering, shuddering, and collapsing.

A chirping screech sounded in the air. Goldpaw fell down and twitched, pretending to be dying a very painful death. The screech sounded again. There was a massive bird in the sky, with white outer feathers and brown covert feathers. Suddenly, a massive bird hailing from the sky came blazing down to Goldenpaw, talons outstretched, ready to kill. Goldenpaw bounced up and sprinted like the wind, and Acornpaw, Ryepaw, and all of the warriors bursted out of hiding. _GO GO GO GO,_ thought Amberpaw, hurdling out of the tiny cave. A loud screech sounded in the air as Ryepaw jumped back with a mouthful of huge feathers in his mouth.

"Great, Ryepaw! Keep at it! Amberpaw, Cloverpaw! Out of your caves!" Heronsky took the lead, ripping feathers from the hawk's wings. Another massive screech sounded as Amberpaw darted out and the hawk beat it's wings, trying to fly away, but with to no avail. Heronsky's massive jaws latched onto it's wing, sending a loud _crack_ through the mountain air. The hawk screeched and lost control, falling to the ground. Amberpaw latched on, ripping feathers, just on time. Heronsky flopped to the ground and Bramblecloud, Fernfang and Cloverpaw stepped onto the bird's neck. Bramblecloud snapped her jaws around the hawk's neck, killing it swiftly. Goldpaw hastily sprinted over to Heronsky, whose jaw was splayed at a strange angle and a cut on his chest oozing blood.

"Heronsky!" Goldenpaw investigated the injured she-cat. "Someone get Yarrowspring!"

"I'll go!" yowled Cherrytail, the fastest cat of the group as she sprinted off to the closeby camp. Amberpaw stood in shock. Heronsky had jumped up to the departing eagle _and hung onto it_ mid flight, probably breaking something in it's wing.

"HERONSKY!" shouted Ryepaw, darting over to his mentor.

"It's all right. It looks like she just got her jaw dislocated, and this is only a small scratch. I need to get clarification from Yarrowspring before I can relocate it or anything," said Goldenpaw, cool and relaxed. Soon enough, the old reddish brown tabby strode to the site, bitter herbs and cobwebs strewn in his jaws.

"This is exactly what you thought it was, Goldenpaw." He hunched over Heronsky and jerked his jaw back with a snap. He chewed up all of the herbs and spat them onto the wound. Heronsky got up, revitalized.

"This is a ferruginous hawk. Uncommon here, but not quite rare. You can tell by the white and rusty brown patterns, vibrant large beak, and pattern of feathers around the head. This is a juvenile, with darker feathers. We never see adults around these areas during summer, but the younger ones occasionally will end up here."She paused a second to look at the bird- cleanly killed except for a few feathers strewn about the ground. "They taste more tender in summer, but still stringy at the joint. Let's get it back to camp." The hauling the bird back to camp, the warriors walked in silence.

Chapter 10

Cloverpaw stepped out of the den to the overcast mountain evening. Ryepaw did such a good job biting the primary feathers off, big deal. Ryepaw made it possible for Heronsky to take the bird down, big deal. Bramblecloud did an amazing job doing the killing blow on such a muscular neck… yadda yadda yadda. Big fat pika-pooping deal! Who cared? Not her. She only wanted to go down to see Sparrowtail. Sparrowtail was the only one who could make her happy. But there was no way she was seeing him tonight, after all of these celebrations. They caught their first hawk, _WHO CARES_! If only there was a way to get down to LightningClan without detection… but no. Her oh-so-great-and-noble brothers and sister would be the stars tonight. _Better get this over with. If I'm lucky I might be able to escape by midnight._ Cloverpaw shimmied her way out of the narrow den exit out into the still bright overcast mountain sun. There was hardly anything to see around this territory. Rocks. Some flowers, moss, and maybe grass. No trees, no shrubs, hardly a bush. Nope, only mountain goats, marmots, pikas, and birds of prey lined the fresh kill hole. The rich, meaty, tender prey of the valleys was all she was craving, besides Sparrowtail's sleek short brown tabby coat brushing against her monstrously shaggy grey one. The only thing she didn't like about the lower territories was the heat. But besides that, the rich, tender, juicy prey like rabbits, shrews, moles, squirrels, bugs, snakes, even fish… the soft dens lined with the softest moss and moist pine needles… and the trees! Oh, the trees! How majestic. Sparrowpelt taught her to climb them… the soft earthy bark would fall off beneath her huge dull claws as she would clamber up them… the vibrant green nettles and the golden sweet sap oozing from the trunks lit up by the stars. Padding around the valleys, oh, her calloused rough feet would sink into the warm beds of pine and soil, and to wade in the shallow streams, racing Sparrowtail through the territory, his long tabby tail waving through to the sky.

No. Padding over the rough ground, her paws now sore from being pampered with the amazing soils of below. The entire clan was bubbling and buzzing around camp, but Cloverpaw didn't need them. She could dress the hawk for eating herself, as was her assignment. Sage, hyssop, and mint piles were laid out for her, along with the task of collecting pinesap. Trotting off, Cloverpaw found a pine tree and began scraping bark in large strips, ridden with sweet, sticky sap. Following her return to the camp she laid the eagle carcass onto a large rock and started stripping it neatly of its feathers, sticking the feathers onto the a bed of herbs, bark and sap, and keeping several of the largest for the first bird ceremony. She sprinkled the herbs onto the clean carcass and spread sap on the designated portions, spotting to nip a leaf from her paw. The bitter, floral scent of hyssop and mint hit her nose, mixed with sticky pinesap. She spat it out and continued her work of spreading the herbs, pondering what the warriors saw in those bitter tastes to motivate them to spread it on prey.

An hour of napping later, the clan was summoned to a meeting. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!" bellowed Flintstar, his long dark brownish black fur hardly showing beneath the darkness. What seemed like the entire Clan was gathered around the dressed hawk. _Sparrowtail said that none of the other Clans do such nonsense as the First Bird Ceremony_ , Cloverpaw thought with bitterness. _So why do we have to do it_? Unwillingly she sat at the base of the rock with her littermates and the other members of the patrol, including Heronsky sitting proudly next to Ryepaw. "We have gathered here today for a very special occasion- Frostflower and Flamewhisker's kits have now come to become true members of the great group that is IceClan by catching their first bird of prey. They have fulfilled three of the great five rites of passage for any IceClan warrior. They have gone out of the camp, feeling the wind in their fur, and for some, a _bit too early_." The Clan chuckled and all eyes rested on Cloverpaw. "They have toured our territory, fulfilling the second tenant. And now, they have brought down a bird of prey, fulfilling the third " The Clan erupted into great cheering and chanting the apprentice's names. _RYEPAW! AMBERPAW! ACORNPAW! CLOVERPAW!_ Could be heard through the thin mountain air that fall night that the kits became true IceClan cats.

Chapter 11

"Wake up!" Amberpaw mewed with excitement as she stood over the white and golden she-cat, nudging her over. Nettlepaw slowly rose to her feet, yawning. She gave her chest fur a few quick licks and then sprung to her feet.

"Dawn patrol?" Nettlepaw mewed.

"Yup." Amberpaw had become good friends with Nettlepaw over the last couple of moons because their mentors often planned training together.

Briarstep and Driftcloud sat together by the fresh kill hole gossiping about the hawk that the new apprentices brought down.

"We don't normally see ferruginous hawks around here. They are my favorite, though. They taste like the wind." Driftcloud meowed.

"I was very impressed by how well Goldenpaw identified Heronsky's injury. She obviously has been training really hard." Briarstep mewed, glancing at the medicine cat den. Driftcloud murmured consent and then spotted Nettlepaw and Amberpaw.

"Are you ready for the dawn patrol?" Driftcloud mewed, surveying the two apprentices.

The two cats nodded. Briarstep pricked her ears. "Where is Flowerhop?" The bright orange she-cat was nowhere to be seen in the midst of early-morning bustle. Goldenpaw climbed out of the medicine den and approached them.  
"Flowerhop got a fever in the night. Yarrowspring thinks it might be Ratcough," she mewed grimly.

Amberpaw's eyes grew round with concern. Last new-leaf three elders died because of Ratcough. The vicious disease only affected cats during new-leaf, and it was spread when cats traveling in the lower parts of the territory and forest prey were bitten by disease-ridden flies.

"If you see any hyssop or aspen bark please bring it to me." Goldenpaw mewed, with a depressed look at the empty notch in the cave where Ratcough herbs were stored. "We don't have any."

"Of course." Driftcloud mewed, giving the she-cat a reassuring lick on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Goldenpaw mewed as she padded back inside the cave. With a flick of her tail, Driftcloud indicated the other cats to follow her, plodding towards the edge of camp. Breaking into a swift jog, the cats quickly made their way to PineClan border. Amberpaw struggled to keep up as the older cats lengthened their strides and confidently maneuvered along the winding path. The path grew wider however as the small patrol approached the river that sprawled across the territory.

"Careful." Driftcloud spoke as she hopped confidently from stone to stone across the wide river, her paws gripping the thick moss that grew on the grey stones. Once she made it across, the grey and white she-cat impatiently shifted from one paw to the other as she observed Amberpaw's slow pawsteps. The wood that they had used to cross was sitting on the bank, the water level low enough for stone-hopping.

"Finally." Driftcloud grunted as Amberpaw made the last leap across. "Those borders won't mark themselves," and began once again to run towards the border.

Nettlepaw gave Amberpaw a sympathetic glance, and murmured in her ear. " _Those borders won't mark themselves,"_ Nettlepaw mimicked softly. "She is always saying that. I don't know how anyone bears it." Amberpaw nodded. They continued to trot until they reached the edge of the territory. The strong, fresh smell wafted into her nose as they approached the border.

"I think I smell a pika near those brambles, can I go catch it?" Amberpaw meowed, with a pleading look at Driftcloud and Briarstep.

"Go ahead. Hurry though." Briarstep mewed. The sweet scent of pika mingled with the pine tree's strong, fresh smell as Amberpaw plodded into the grove. The short trees bent over her head, creating a canopy. Splotches of sunlight painted the ground. Herwispy fur brushed against the vibrant, green pine needles. Amberpaw sunk her claws into the cushiony undergrowth below her feet. Leaping from branch to branch, Amberpaw surveyed the ground. The small, brown body of a pika was scuttling around the edge of the grove. Anxiety mixed with excitement as Amberpaw leaped from the branch and landed, rather clumsily, on top of the pika. Killing it quickly, Amberpaw buried the small body, her claws shifting the loose dirt. Fighting the urge to stay longer, she sprinted off towards the patrol, who were now tail-lengths from the border. Catching up quickly, Amberpaw began to chatter.

"I caught the-," Briarstep slapped her tail over her muzzle to silence the bumbling apprentice. Following his gaze across the border, Amberpaw froze when she saw four of those alien furless warriors emerge. Only their gray muzzles could distinguish them from older apprentices. The smallest one was no bigger than Amberpaw. Muscles rippled from under their short fur. _Tortoiseshell, dark grey, brown, black._ _Is this what all of their cats look like? And aren't they cold, with that short fur…_ Amberpaw wondered. IceClan cats all had long, thick fur and dark furred cats were uncommon. The tortoiseshell she-cat spoke first.

"What are you doing here?" she spat, her loathing yellow eyes surveying the patrol.

"Border patrol. We keep our markers fresh.'' Driftcloud meowed, hardening her blue eyes to stone while keeping a calm figure. The dark grey tabby tom stepped forward, a tail-length from the border.

"Is that so? This won't be your territory for long." He spoke with a sneer. "Enjoy it now, it'll be ours soon." His tail waved with malice. "These pine trees are righteously ours."

"Yeah, right." Amberpaw meowed softly. Briarstep hissed.

"She's right." Driftcloud meowed. Amberpaw stared at her in utter shock. "Every IceClan apprentice has hunted in this grove for as long as the oldest cat in the clan can remember. You have no right to claim this ground as your own, even though you might be called PineClan"

Shocked and angry, the calico flicked her tail and the PineClan cats sprung across the border at the IceClan patrol. _What do I do?_ Amberpaw thought. The small black she-cat leapt towards her but Amberpaw ducked under her sharp, unsheathed claws. _My first battle._ Fear, and eagerness to prove herself rushed through her. _Left. Right. Leap. Swipe. Roll. Duck._ Her mentor's words spoke in her head, from the many moons of battle practices. The PineClan warrior was small and nimble but Amberpaw was stronger, the battle was tight and they were matched move for move until the warrior threw her to the ground, viciously clawing at her belly fur.

"What?!" Squirrelfeather exclaimed. She emerged from the grove, probably after hearing the commotion. Streamwing and Bramblecloud flanked the deputy. They stood, vexed, staring at the patrol.

"STOP!" Her loud confident meow made even the PineClan warriors freeze.

"Come. Now." Squirrelfeather mewed, more softly, drawing the IceClan patrol back a fox-length.

"What has happened here?" Squirrelfeather meowed, looking from Driftcloud to the calico she-cat.

"Briarstep? Explain." Squirrelfeather naturally asked the black she-cat.

"We came to mark our borders, and we met with this patrol. They were well… not exactly friendly," Briarstep meowed icily, "And they claimed that this territory would soon be theirs, as well as some other threats. We did little to provoke them but they leaped across the border and attacked us. Naturally, we fought back." Briarstep meowed, "Every IceClan warrior will defend our borders with their life." quoting part of the new apprentice speech. Squirrelfeather nodded and then turned to the calico.

"Ferntail? What do you think happened?"

"We were patrolling as well. We saw them and told them that borders are not always set in stone. They change all the time. We wanted you to know. But then she," Ferntail spat at Amberpaw, "Was rude to us. We naturally were angered and we would not let a _kit_ insult us. A battle followed." Ferntail scowled at the IceClan patrol.

"We will not apologize for the behavior of Amberpaw, who was-" Nettlepaw raised her mew to protest but Squirrelfeather gave her a stern glare.

"I think that the Flintstar and Ashstar should discuss this border dispute themselves." Ferntail hissed but turned away nonetheless. The cats walked to camp in silence. Squirrelfeather led the patrol into Flintstar's den.

"What happened?" Flintstar mewed, surveying the patrol in dismay.

"There was a border squabble after PineClan got some funny ideas about where the border lines are drawn." Nettlepaw meowed.

"Driftcloud, you have no serious injuries." Flintstar mewed as he sniffed the older she-cat, " You and Squirrelflight will explain what happened. The rest of you," Flintstar meowed, "Go have Yarrowspring see to those wounds." Nettlepaw, Amberpaw and Briarstep plodded to the medicine den to be treated. Yarrowspring picked through their long fur carefully.

"Briarstep, you seem okay. You have a few scratches," Yarrowspring meowed through a mouthful of herbs, "Eat these and it will help you, and I put some cobwebs on for the bleeding. Don't do anything too strenuous today or tomorrow." The she-cat meowed with confidence. Briarstep nodded and gave his scrape a nervous lick before heading to his den.

"Goldenpaw! I need you to comb through Amberpaw's fur, look for anything serious." Yarrowspring mewed.

"Okay." Goldpaw mewed, and begun to look through Amberpaw's fur.

"Wow. You have a decent gash down your side. I'll get some cobwebs and sage for that. I'll apply a little marigold and thyme poultice for your scratches too." Goldenpaw explained with a nervous look at Yarrowspring. Yarrowspring nodded, and Goldenpaw rubbed on the herbs. "You should rest a while and make sure you don't do anything that hurts." She looked anxiously at Yarrowspring who purred.

"I think it's time you become a full medicine cat."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 12

Acornpaw woke slowly and painfully, coughing as the cold mountain air tormed her lungs. She finally managed to get up, realizing that he was the only one up in the entire camp. It was very early in the morning and Squirrelfeather, an early riser, had not even awoke to organize the dawn patrols. As she stood she realized her lungs were burning. Her light grey patched tabby coat was clammy and moist, and her paws tingly and hot. _Better go to Yarrowspring… or Goldenfeather…_ The slight pretty she-cat had received her medicine cat name and had attended well to the needs of the Clan. Hoppaw and Leappaw had become apprentices to Flowerhop and Streamwing, and had already toured the territory. Acornpaw had no time to think about how Hoppaw seemed to brush up against Cloverpaw, who would ordinarily seem to enjoy a crush or follower. Normally, Cloverpaw would give the poor tom a run for his money whenever that happened. But not recently.

Acornpaw seemed to have lost her mind that morning, desperate to get out of the stuffy apprentice's den, noticing Cloverpaw's absence. Acornpaw's nose was working, and though her lungs and brain were not, she tracked Cloverpaw's scent all the way to the border. It went on, past the PineClan border. _I've gone this far, I'm not stopping now,_ she thought, passing the territory boundary, and soon exiting the trees to a well-trodden path. Cloverpaw's scent was still going strong, though, and Acornpaw started to sprint. The scent trail went lower… down, down, down the side of the mountain. It encroached on LightningClan borders and became stronger, as if Cloverpaw was waiting here for a while. And then… a LightningClan cat? The two trails met up and a thick, earthy scent clouded Acornpaw's nose. The air was thick and hot compared to the tundra, and Acornpaw's already clammy fur was now slick with sweat. But she had come this far. The sun peeked out from the top of the mountain, illuminating the valley with a reddish pink tone. Determined and suspicious of her sister, Acornpaw trekked on. The ground was increasingly moist and squishy and strewn with pine needles. Acornpaw had the uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched… but how? Even after she looked behind multiple times, there was no cat or other animal, for that matter. _Scratch_. Acornpaw jumped, but there was no one! Whispers… but she could not make out where they were coming from. Spooked, Acornpaw burst into a blind sprint. Where she was going, she did not know, besides that it was down and following her sister's trail. The scent of LightningClan ceased, and it morphed into a fishy, sweetly slick scent. There were a tangle of willows ahead of the sickly apprentice and a small path leading to who-knows-where inside them. Without thinking, Acornpaw darted into the green, springy tunnel, her senses clouded with fish and watery flavor. Her large form scarcely fit into the confines. Suddenly there were rustles from inside the brush. _What is going on_ , the apprentice thought. She backed up, out of the tunnel, only to find herself face-to-face with a full patrol of very, very small cats. One was light grey, and two other were a sandy red. Two cream-colored apprentices followed.

"StarClan! I'm sorry! I-" The light grey she-cat cut Amberpaw off.

"Lost traveler! Who are you?" she mewed in a soft, sweet voice.

"Uh, I'm not a traveler. I'm an IceCl-" Acornpaw came to her senses. "Well, actually I am. I'm a rouge…"

"Oh, whoever you are, come with us! We can give you some fish to fatten you up… boy, you do have a lot of fur. Oh! Great StarClan! Do you have _Ratcough_?" The patrol took a step back. "With my most sincere apology, here in WillowClan, we are very strict about disease. I'm sorry but we must escort you to the border, but we can spare some fish for you!" She paused. "Flowerpaw, bring back three Yellowstone Cutthroat for our visitor.' One of the smaller cats darted off into the willow tunnel and a few seconds later, brought three medium-size reddish fish.

"I don't need your prey! I'm going!" Acornpaw shouted, darting away out of the territory back up the mountain. The sun was just barely coming up, giving Acornpaw just enough time to return making it seem like she was on a walk.

 _I must keep going_ , she continually thought to herself. Her lungs felt coated with mucus and she could feel blood rising in her parched throat, only stopping for a second to lap from a tiny stream. Her ankles were sore and her legs ready to collapse, her head spinning even after the drink. Passing the LightningClan border… then finally around PineClan… then at last. The territory markers! One last burst of speed, and finally there. Acornpaw curled up onto the highest point in the territory. She blinked slowly, the world spinning, her throat parched with thirst. But she could not force her legs to move to go to the small tundra spring that watered the Clan. So many colors… spinning… flying… then falling… then the light faded into blackness.

The blackness faded to nothingness.

Acornpaw blinked slowly and the world came into view. A brown tabby with massive ear tufts and a golden she-cat stood over her. She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Acornpaw." Yarrowspring spoke in a soft voice. " You're up." Acornpaw groaned. "Shhhhhhh. Don't try to speak. Here, take these herbs," he mewed as he placed something tickly and bitter-smelling close to her throat and Acornpaw swallowed.

"Go back to sleep. You must rest." Acornpaw tried to sit up and tell Yarrowspring and Goldfeather about Cloverpaw's scent and her encounter with WillowClan… and the rustling noise in LightningClan, and…

The world spun out of control and went black again.

Chapter 13

Nettlepaw trotted gleefully over to Ryepaw, her eyes gleaming.

"Hey Ryepaw."

"Hi Nettlepaw" He responded.

"Wanna share a pika?" She said.

"Sure." He mewed. Nettlepaw took a pika from the fresh kill pile and set it between them. They ate it quickly. Nettlepaw gazed at Ryepaw long and hard. Emotion pulsed through Ryepaw's fur. They brushed pelts and headed separate ways. Amberpaw and Acornpaw purred and gave a _mreow_ of laughter as they plodded past them. Nettlepaw headed out for a hunting patrol leaving Ryepaw and his sisters alone.

"So. How are you doing?" Amberpaw meowed with a twinkle in her eyes turning towards Ryepaw.

"Erm. Good." Ryepaw meowed.

"You and Nettlepaw are pretty close." Amberpaw meowed.

"Are you two…" Cloverpaw asked.

"What do you mean?" Ryepaw asked, confused. Amberpaw snorted.

"You really don't see it," Amberpaw shook her head. "She obviously likes you." Ryepaw's eyes grew wide. _Really?_ Ryepaw thought.

"So…," Cloverpaw mewed.

"Do you like her too?" Amberpaw finished. Ryepaw mulled over the thought in his head.

"Yes. I think so." Ryepaw stammered, and turned his head at the golden and white she-cat. "But don't be spreading gossip."

"Oh c'mon. The clan already knows that she likes you." Amberpaw mewed.

"Really?" Ryepaw mewed. The two she-cats nodded and then walked away. _I should tell Nettlepath._ Ryepaw thought and anxiously waited for her to return.

"Whoa." Ryepaw meowed as Nettlepaw, Streamwing, Hoppaw, Leappaw and Flowerhop dragged a eagle into camp.

"Congrats on your first bird," Ryepaw meowed to Hoppaw and Leappaw.

"Thanks." Hoppaw mewed proudly, looking at the golden eagle.

"Hey Nettlepaw. Do you want to go with me? I'm collecting bedding." Nettlepaw nodded and followed him. Ryepaw started to tell him everything but Nettlepaw cut him off.

"I like you too." She purred and licked his ear. "Let's go back to camp."

Chapter 14

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath HighStone for a Clan meeting." Flintstar's proud mew echoed through camp. Cats gathered around the stone that gleamed in the sunlight.

"As you might have heard, a border patrol has encountered PineClan. We were faced with fierce threats and their four full grown warriors attacked our patrol. Two apprentices and their mentors fought bravely against them. We showed PineClan that we are strong and we can fight back. We will not let PineClan hunt in our territory. As you know, PineClan is a large clan, much bigger than our own. Myself, Heronsky and Squirrelwhisker are going to create a training program for all cats, to prepare them for what is coming. There is an optional kit course, where we teach kits what to do in the midst of battle, where to go and a few basic defense moves to use only in dire circumstances. Apprentices will spend time each evening training with the instructor and warriors will take required battle training every half-moon. We will be strong against anything PineClan throws at us." Flintstar meowed proudly and the clan cheered.

"Also, we are here because our newest apprentices born to Roseclaw and Crowpelt have brought down their first bird of prey. Their mentors have taught them well and we are proud to say that these apprentices are true members of mighty IceClan. IceClan is growing. We have four kits in the nursery and six apprentices in training. I would like to thank the mentors of our apprentices for their devotion to their clan. We defend our borders. We hunt. We are strong. We are IceClan!"

" _HOPPAW! LEAPPAW! HOPPAW! LEAPPAW!"_ The cheering echoed around the valley and the clan was joyous. The large falcon, already plucked and dressed was brought into the clearing. There was enough food for all cats and even extra that was torn into strips and dried for future use. All was well in IceClan. The construction of the Battle Skill Hollow would be started the next day.

 ****

 **Chapter 15**

"Bramblecloud, Cherrytail, Frostflower," Squirrelwhisker called. "You will lead the building," She chose the three best builders in the clan. "Hoppaw, Leappaw, and Amberpaw, you go with them." They trotted down to the chosen location; a small clutch of trees with a large open area in the middle. The first job was to collect pine needles to place to simulate PineClan territory. A few stray saplings found at the edge of the border were tied in between branches for tree training as well as paw strength. Sticks were used to make a barrier around the training hollow for safety. The entrance was a discreet tunnel under a bush. Rocks were placed around for strength practice. Small animals scuttled around, enjoying the sheltered area, perfect for a PineClan hunting simulation. At the very top of the trees, ledges were built for practice leaping from tree to tree. The safe shelter was hidden well, blending in with the surrounding sparse woods. They started building as soon as the sun had lifted off the mountains, and worked until it started to set. Warriors took shifts building it, for the cats got tired after moving the rocks and sticks. Once Amberpaw's shift was complete she headed to her den for a little while and then went on hunting patrol with Hoppaw, Streamwing and Crowpelt.

"Let's go." Streamwing mewed. They plodded through the winding paths towards look-out rock. Look-Out rock was the highest point in all of the four territories. You could see the tall, dense trees of LightningClan, the rivers and marsh of WillowClan and the pine forest of PineClan, as well as the rocky tundra of IceClan. Amberpaw could even glimpse the Gathering spot; the Twoleg barn that worked well as a meeting place between the clans.

"There." Hoppaw meowed, flicking his tail to a falcon circling the tundra. The patrol stealthily stalked the bird, watching its movements. The falcon was tired and it couldn't fly for too much longer. The cats positioned themselves carefully, crouching under rocks and bushes, waiting for the falcon to land. Hoppaw took the risk of crawling out from his hiding place into the open, to scan the sky for the bird. Sure enough, the bird was not too far away. It's beady black eyes spotted Hoppaw, and the small, dark gray tom was easy prey for the muscular bird. The falcon spiraled towards the cat, flying at top speed. Hoppaw stood, petrified, staring at the falcons powerful talons that reached toward him. Streamwing, Crowpelt and Amberpaw all leaped out of their hiding places, as Hoppaw was gripped by the large falcon's talons. Amberpaw was the first to reach Hoppaw, and she leaped in the air, swiping madly at the falcon's eyes and talons. She scratched his eye, her paw narrowly avoiding the strong beak of the bird. Amberpaw hooked it's wing with her claw and sent the bird, Hoppaw and Amberpaw spiraling to the ground. Amberpaw held the bird down as Streamwing delivered the final killing blow to the bird's muscular neck.

"Wow!" Crowpelt meowed. "That was amazing!"

"I wish Briarstep was here to see that, she would be so proud." Streamwing mewed, "And Frostflower and Flamewhisker too. You pretty much took that bird down single pawed." Amberpaw swelled with pride as they hauled the bird back to camp. The bird was large and juicy and the clan enjoyed the tender meat. Gossip about the hunt spread quickly.

"Just like her father, you know. He could bring down any bird in the territory." Mothpelt meowed just in front of the elders den.

"And her brave mother, too." Brookfur responded. Cloverpaw wasn't quite her usual sour self lately, she even congratulated Amberpaw. Amberpaw didn't have time to think about Cloverpaw, though. She and the other apprentices got to try out the Battle Skills Hollow tomorrow. Amberpaw was eager to test it out. She plodded to her den, full with falcon meat and content with her growing reputation in the clan.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 16

Ryepaw stared in awe at the Battle Skills Hollow. Hoppaw, Leappaw, Amberpaw, and Cloverpaw all stood in the center of the training hollow. Fernfang, Heronsky, Bramblecloud, Briarstep, Brindlestem and Driftcloud were waiting for them. The sun dappled the dry pine needles that cracked beneath their claws.

Heronsky leaped down from one of the ledges, landing squarely on her paws.

"We need to be prepared for a coming battle against PineClan. PineClan fights in the trees, in the undergrowth and they will definitely use that to their advantage." She mewed.

"We will improve your strength, for you might be fighting full-grown cats." Bramblecloud added.

"We will teach you how to fight two or even three cats at once, because PineClan greatly outnumbers us." Brindlestem finished. "Ready?" The cats started with a strength exercise, moving rocks. Ryepaw was fairly good at it, pushing the small rocks easily across the hollow. The medium rocks were a challenge, and Ryepaw strained to move the largest ones. Driftcloud carefully surveyed the apprentices from an above ledge. The warriors stacked the rocks in a pyramid and then moved the rocks back again until Driftcloud was satisfied.

"Tree-climbing practice!" Briarstep called. The cats scurried up the trees, the brittle bark flaking off beneath their feet. IceClan cat's blunt claws were no help. Ryepaw frantically clawed up the tree, paws slipping. Cloverpaw, however, was a natural. She scaled the tree, leaping from branch to branch with ease.

"Excellent, Cloverpaw. You are really good at tree climbing." Driftcloud meowed. She couldn't seem to stop praising her for her skill in the trees. Normally, Amberpaw was always the best when it came to training, but Cloverpaw was swift and comfortable in the trees. Amberpaw looked in astonishment at Cloverpaw. By the time she made it half-way up the tree, Cloverpaw had gone up the tallest tree and down again. However, Amberpaw was determined. Cloverpaw never beat her in _anything._ She was eager to prove herself to her mentor.

"Tree jumping." Bramblecloud called. "You have to have good technique. You must leap farther across, than you do up. We practice jumping upwards, because we hunt birds. Imagine you are stalking a pika, spring forward and a little bit upwards. Make sure you know where you will land. You want to look for a sturdy, strong branch that will support you." He demonstrated, leaping across and clutching onto a branch. He seemed not at all at home in the trees, and seemed scared to do it himself. _IceClan cats don't like trees. But I suppose it's important._ Amberpaw was first to attempt it, leaping across and latching her claws firmly onto the pine tree's branch. She executed it perfectly, and then leaped again, even further. Ryepaw followed, his paws clawing at the tree, trying to get a good hold. They leaped from tree to tree for a while, until the sun had begun to set. Then they did two-versus-one battle training until moonhigh. Cloverpaw seemed rather eager to return to her den, though it was getting cold, and Ryepaw would love to curl up in his cozy nest. Finally, they headed back into camp, muscles aching from all of the training.

Chapter 17

The old barn creaked and swayed in the wind. The leaders stood at the beams on the top floor, and the rest of the cats stood below on the hay strewn floor. The old twoleg building quivered as the storm howled outside as light from the full moon filtered in. Tonight, only the sweet-hearted WillowClan cats mingled with the other clans. IceClan and PineClan were rigid and tense, standing on the edges of the barn. Flintstar stood proudly above his clan, giving an iron stare to Ashstar, who returned it without fright. WillowClan's leader, Plumstar stood vexed, staring at the two leaders.

"Are we going to start or not? We're wasting moonlight." Ashstar mewed rather icily.

"Cats of all clans, welcome to the gathering. Tonight we are joined by a new leader, Blossomstar of LightningClan!" Plumstar announced, and cats from IceClan, LightningClan, and WillowClan cheered. PineClan remained noticeably silent. The dark brown tabby she-cat leaped onto her place on the beam, her green gaze surveying the cats with a slightly judgemental look.

She spoke with a strong confidence. "We mourn the death of Newtstar, he lived long and he died of old age. He was a strong leader, and led our clan through hard times and we are still here to tell the story of it. We are excited to announce that new kits were born to Stoneleaf and her mate Emberheart- Mousekit, Rabbitkit, and Harekit, and they are thriving. Prey is running well in LightningClan, and we are grateful for the new-leaf bounty. We are proud to note that Thistlestripe has become a full member of LightningClan." She stepped back and nodded for Ashstar to begin.

"Thank you, Blossomstar." Ashstar snapped his gaze onto Flintstar. Her amber gaze burned into the leader's eyes. He begun to pad over to him, until they were nose to nose. "Flintstar. You have many times robbed our clan of what is righteously ours. You tell lies and you deceive cats of your own kin. That pine tree grove will be ours in the name of our founder. If you don't hand it over, we will take it with force. We are not afraid of you and battle is just around the corner, and we will fight back. We are PineClan, and we are strong!" Ashstar continued with fire in her mew, "You are too proud to admit that we outnumber you and that we could beat you in any battle. IceClan cats can go fluff up their fur and pretend to be strong but we all know that IceClan cats are weak. We have three new warriors- Mudtail, Loudstream, and Sootheart, and we are ready for a battle." The beautiful she-cat lashed her tail viciously.

"Clouds! Clouds covering the moon! StarClan disapproves!" Shouted a reddish WillowClan elder from behind a twoleg chest.

"The Gathering must be disbanded!" Yowled his light grey she-cat companion. Mews of terror bubbled from the gathered cats.

"Foxfang and Wolftooth are right," mewed Plumstar. "We must abandon the gathering." She bounded down from the ledge and her warriors slinked behind, filing out of the gathering. LightningClan followed close behind. As Flintstar was getting ready to go, Ashstar hit him with a stare to burn through rock.

"The pine grove is ours. And we're willing to fight for it," she hissed sharply before reluctantly gathering her cats to go.

Chapter 18

The day of the new moon was full of hustle and bustle. "IceClan!" Flintstar rallied the cats to the highrock. "I need Squirrelfeather to take three cats and supervise our progress." He paused. "For by the end of the day, we need the fresh-kill pile stocked- apprentices and mentors! Herbs prepared and set for battle- Yarrowspring and Goldfeather! Warriors! Drench the border with markers. I order you not to intrude on PineClan territory, but show them that the northern stretch that they want is ours. We need the camp fortified. Kits, queens, you should be able to defend yourselves had the PineClan forces find the camp, which they hopefully will not. We need to hide anything that could make this camp seem like our home, and possibly make decoy camps in case in invasion. I need all of my cats working hard today. Keep in mind that PieClan could attack any time, so always be on alert." Flintstar took a few breathes. "Furthermore, we are IceClan. Are we not?" The Clan stared at their leader.

"We are. As our founder Icy Peak one said, 'If a Clan wishes to threaten this mighty Clan, they know that we will swoop like hawks down to the hearts of their territories and destroy their Clans if we want to.' We are IceClan! We are strong! We are mighty!"

 _ICECLAN! ICECLAN! ICECLAN! ICECLAN! ICECLAN! ICECLAN!_ The Clan's rallies rang out through the cold mountain air, loud and proud, and, well IceClan-like.

"ONWARDS," Flintstar yowled. "You know your tasks, let's DO THIS!" The clan eagerly divided themselves. The four littermates strolled over to their mentors.

"Hunting?" Acornpaw, nearly fully recovered from her bought of RatCough, mewed to her mentor.

"All apprentices! Follow me! Hunting, now. Travel in groups of three with one or more warriors capable of hunting birds. As much food as quickly as possible, and feel free to patrol and mark the boundaries" Heronsky yowled to the warriors in the clearing. The cats divided amongst themselves and were ready to leave. "No one returns to camp without having caught two pieces of prey apiece or if we send the warning call indicating PineClan is ready for attack. Onwards and upwards!" The patrols all scattered out of the camp to all reaches of the IceClan territory. Acornpaw and Amberpaw trotted together with Cherrytail and their mentors.

"Let's take the outer stretches, down the south side. I reckon Flintstar wouldn't mind in we hunted a little in the unclaimed territory," mewed Cherrytail with a smirk. The patrol padded of to the south side of the mountain, down the steep cliffside. They passed a very duly marked border and dispersed. Around an hour later, they regrouped with five items psat Heronsky's expectations, so they went back to the camp as midday struck. The Clan regrouped and redistributed tasks at the camp.

"This is so scary, but so cool!" mewed Hoppaw, a pika and a particularly fat marmot in his jaws. The patrol quickly deposited it into a designated hidden fresh-kill cache.

"Let's help the others with fortifying camp," mewed Cloverpaw. "They should need some help." The apprentices proceeded to help Driftcloud and Stormfire with repositioning rocks to make dens less obvious.

"Our camp doesn't look much like a camp anyways. Just kind of some rocks, but you can see the dens once you stand in the right place." Stormfire spoke with the experience of an outsider, which he was. He joined the Clan many moons ago when he stated he was a simple loner looking for something more noble, though everyone suspected him to have been a kittypet earlier in life. But he was a loyal, strong warrior, although impatient or stubborn at times.

Stormfire and the apprentices all, with combined might and Driftcloud all managed to get the camp looking even more like a regular group of tundra rocks.

"Great!" Driftcloud, though a brilliant cat often forget things quickly and daydreamed about who-knows what, but she planned the logistics of ratios of the clan doing certain activities at what times, the minimum hunter prey requirement had PineClan somehow surround and block the Clan from all food sources, all for this upcoming battle with PineClan. She had drawn battle plans and tactics in the soil, explaining them to every cat. A few moons ago, there was even a rumor that she could become the deputy, but Driftcloud herself shot that down, saying that she was much to forgetful and distracted to become any higher then she was.

Suddenly, Leappaw and Cherrytail burst into camp.

"PineClan are on the offense; the brought their whole Clan! Flintstar needs to know what to do, Driftcloud!" Cherrytail spoke in a frenzied, fearful voice as she and Leappaw tried to catch their breath. Flintstar came sprinting in as well.

"Flintstar." Driftcloud looked her leader directly in the eyes. "Retreat your forces. Do not call retreat, but get our forces away long enough to get our best cats out there. We need brute strength- no mercy, but still within the Warrior Code." Driftcloud spoke in an urgent tone, much less hazy than usual. She turned to the rest of the cats in camp. "We need around six warriors to guard the camp. Apprentices, gather up the remaining hunting patrols and report to wherever your mentors are- you will be obeying and following then no matter what."

"Their mentors are in the heart of everything, Driftcloud!" said Flintstar in alarm.

"Well then they should join them. I think it's about time we assess them." Driftcloud spoke dreamily, retreating back into her world and staring off into the clouds.

"You heard her. I can take them to gather up the rest of the cats," said Redclaw, his coat shining in the sun.

"Well then go!" Flintstar, Leappaw, and Cherrytail bounded out, and Redclaw lead the remaining apprentices outside.

"Get the other patrols back as quick as possible. And don't you dare wander off or try to join the battle until we have all of the cats with us!" And with that, the cats scattered off in all different ways. Only a few minutes later, they retrieved Fernfang, Flowerhop, Squirrelfeather, Crowpelt, Streamwhisker, and Crowfoot from hunting.

"Three of you need to guard camp, the others, come with us, conceal yourselves, and then we strike with head-on power."

"I'll go and guard," mewed Crowpelt.

"I'm coming with him," said Streamwing.

"Count me in," said Crowfoot.

"Alright. You three, back to camp. You will be joined by Juniperwhisker, the queens, and maybe Driftcloud…" Stormfire stopped to ponder.

"She's going to be somewhere, doing something." Squirrelfeather decided to speed things up. "Alright. Concealment, Flowerhop, Fernfang, all of you. We don't want them to know we are here."

The patrol of nine made their way down the mountainside to the northern slope, looking down on PineClan territory.

Seeing the approaching cats, Flintstar called, "IceClan! Retreat!" The warriors sprinted back up, but instead of going all the way, they snuck between nooks and crannies in the slope.

"What is this, Flintstar? A game?" Ashstar yowled, his warriors surrounding him. Flintstar came out of his nook.

"No, Ashstar. This is not a game. We are IceClan and we do not give up." he glanced at Acornpaw's patrol, now slinking down the mountain. "IceClan, ATTACK!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 19

If a cat asked Acornpaw to describe the moment that the Clan charged, he wouldn't be able to form words. It was pure adrenaline, huge Clan morale, and the fact that they had the high ground. The feeling of all of the cats were all pushing to the single goal…

"Go. Go go go go. Join your mentors!" Squirrelfeather mewed, leading the charge. The Clan bounded down the rocks, and Acornpaw could compare it to a cougar chasing a mountain goat down the slopes. They knew every inch of the territory, every rock, boulder, and loose stone. Their paws carried them like wings, knowing where to step and where to leap. Their formations ebbed and flowed like a large flocks of birds, moving at top speed. Speeding to their dumbfounded rivals, the Clans meet with a clash. Cherrytail, Flintstar, and Fernfang met them first. The IceClan cats were massive, their brute strength pushing through the PineClan ranks. Flintstar broke through the short-coated barrier directly to Ashstar, her short slinky silver tabby coat tiny in comparison to Flintstar's massive black form.

"You cowardly pine marten!" Screeched the PineClan leader. Flintstar charged her, both cats standing on their hind legs, their two front paws grabbing each other digging into flesh. Flintstar grunted as he took down the she-cat, slashing her face. Ashstar yowled and struggled against Flintstar's grip, but it was of no use. IceClan cats were simply too big for Ashstar's small form. Acornpaw and the rest of her patrol finally scaled down the mountain to the battle. A silky-furred cream-colored she-cat with green eyes and a dark grey tom both singled out Acornpaw. They circled the patched grey tabby she-cat, waiting to see who would make the next move.

"You little grubs! This is IceClan territory!" Acornpaw leaped at the cream she-cat, knocking her over. The two-on-one training had done her well. She could slash at the she-cat, whom Acornpaw had pinned down, while she kicked the charcoal-furred tom in the face.

"DON'T YOU DARE MESS WITH MY SISTER!" Cloverpaw shouted, rushing over from fighting alongside her littermates. The dark grey apprentice knocked the little grey tom to the hard stone beneath him. Raging with anger, she bit down hard onto the tom's coat, his fur fluffing up all over the place. The tom scrambled away with a sizable gash on his flank.

"SNOW HARE!" Flintstar yowled the IceClan code for a fake scatter retreat. Giving the cream she-cat a last nip, Acornpaw ran up to regroup. Ryepaw stood ready for the next attack, and the PineClan cats advanced upwards, out of the area they were attempting to claim. _They're toast_ , thought Acornpaw. Around half of the PineClan warriors made their way to the IceClan camp, and the others went to a decoy camp.

"PIKA! PIKA! PIKA!" Flintstar shouted. The clan burst away to chase PineClan out and protect the queens and kits. Only a few warriors diverged to handle the decoy camp, and the other cats went head-on to protect the camp. The cats who had been guarding the camp were on the alert. The PineClan fighters were sandwiched between the oncoming battle patrol close behind them, and the guarding force at the camp. They reached the camp, slipping from rock to rock, but the battle patrol was faster. As soon as all of the warriors reached the camp, it was all over. It was the entire IceClan vurses a PineClan battle patrol in the IceClan camp. Acornpaw swiftly scooped up Eaglekit's fluffy body, plopping the mewling kit back in the nursery. IceClan slowly pushed out the oncoming patrol, and as soon as Ashstar started running, it was all over.

"PEREGRINE FALCON!" Flintstar gave the signal to chase. The entire Clan, including the queens and a few kits hopping eagerly to be part of the battle, bolted down at top speed, nipping at the PineClan warrior's heels as they struggled to navigate the rocky terrain. Acornpaw managed to latch onto a dark brown tom's tail, but after she sunk into it hard with her teeth she let him go.

"GOLDEN EAGLE!" cried Flintstar. IceClan had won.

Chapter 20

Ryepaw was overwhelmed. He fought by Cloverpaw, and they worked together well. They battled two full grown warriors, fighting with tooth and claw. PineClan was huge, bigger than Ryepaw could imagine. Most warriors fought two or three others. PineClan, however was disorganized and struggled to give information. IceClan was, on the contrary, well organized, and moved as a whole. When cats got injured, Goldfeather would dart out from the sheltered rock, and drag them to Yarrowspring who would treat them, but they were overwhelmed by the amount of injured cats. Amberpaw was fighting bravely with Leappaw, and they took on three warriors. PineClan begun to push IceClan back into their own territory. Flintstar shouted orders.

"IceClan, SNOW HARE!" This was the secret code for a split retreat. The left side would drop back a little, to give PineClan the impression they were retreating and then sprint ahead on the left flank of the battle and then circle back. This would draw the PineClan cats backwards if all went well. All did not go well. Half of PineClan rushed forwards towards camp instead and the other half went to a decoy camp.

"PIKA! PIKA! PIKA!" Flintstar called, and all of the cats sprinted at top speed back to the real camp to defend the kits and queens. Adrenaline rushed through Ryepaw as he ran as fast as he could back to camp. His paws scraped the rock every step he took, blood oozing. But that didn't matter. The kits and queens were in danger from the large patrol that had reached camp. The kits were ushered back into Flintstar's den, but Ryepaw saw little Eaglekit's cream pelt in the midst of the battle. Amberpaw must have saw too, because she picked the little kit up and put him with the rest of the kits. Since half of PineClan was in one of the decoy camps it made the battle a lot easier. The queens and guards also helped and slowly, PineClan was driven back to the border. By this time, the other half of PineClan had searched the decoy camp and joined the rest of the patrol. _Roll, swipe, move, leap!_ The thoughts thrummed in Ryepaw's mind. The dark grey tom he was fighting had short, dense fur and amber eyes that burned with hatred. He had a nick out of his ear and sharp claws that tore into Ryepaw's white belly fur. _Cloverpaw._ Amberpaw stood in front of Cloverpaw, who laid down on the ground, blood seeping from her leg. Amberpaw's eyes were nervous, and she glanced down at her sister often. Ryepaw sprinted to Goldfeather.

"Cloverpaw! She's hurt." Ryepaw meowed.

"Bring her to me!" Goldfeather meowed through a mouthful of bright red berries.

Ryepaw rushed to Cloverpaw, grabbing her by the scruff. A massive black tom tackled them, but Ryepaw turned around to give him a quick scratch across his face. He howled in pain and Ryepaw had just enough time to drag Cloverpaw to Goldfeather. The tom recovered quickly, and charged towards him again. Amberpaw, who stood right behind him, bit down as hard as she could on the PineClan cat's tail. He yowled and retreated to his medicine cat. Amberpaw gave a victory cry and headed off to fight another cat. Ryepaw and Hoppaw pushed a tortoiseshell she-cat into her own territory.

"PEREGRINE FALCON!" Flintstar shouted proudly. The IceClan cats had pushed PineClan past the border. They made a wall of cats and stopped, sending PineClan deep into their own territory.

"Retreat! PineClan, retreat!" Ashstar yelled. There was no need to tell them twice. They sprinted into the forest, weaving through the dense pine trees and to their camp.

"GOLDEN EAGLE!" Flintstar called, and the Clan headed back to camp. The cats, bloody and injured, headed back into camp to get their wounds cleaned up. Cats lined up in front of the medicine cat den, waiting for treatments. The cats were happy, though, the battle was won and the borders would not change.

Chapter 21

Amberpaw winced as Yarrowspring rubbed a poultice into her fur. The smell of the medicine cat den was strong and tangy. The gash on her stomach stung, but Amberpaw didn't care. The battle was won and Cloverpaw, thankfully, was okay.

"Really, I'm fine." Amberpaw meowed to Yarrowspring.

"No, you aren't. You have a nasty gash." Yarrowspring mewed stubbornly.

The cats were treated based on how serious their injury was. Juniperwhisker's injury was the worst, he had dislocated his shoulder, and blood soaked his blueish grey fur. After Amberpaw was treated, she joined her sisters and brother who sat, talking around an eating rock, sharing the wing of a hawk.

"They had so many cats!" Acornpaw meowed.

"I know, right?" Ryepaw meowed. Their conversation was cut off by Flintstar's yowl.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath Highrock for a clan meeting!" Cats gathered around, and Amberpaw glimpsed the kits peaking out at the clan meeting through the rocks. Once all of the cats had gathered, Flintstar spoke again. "We fought well today. We were strong and we proved to PineClan, that you can't just stroll into our territory and take our land! From the smallest kit," Flintstar looked at Eaglekit, "To the strongest warrior, we fought, and we won!" The clan cheered. "For their exceptional bravery and skill in battle today. I wish to make Ryepaw, Acornpaw, Amberpaw and Cloverpaw warriors today." The cats stepped forwards. "I, Flintstar, leader of IceClan call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard in the way of your noble code and they shall become warriors in their turn." Flintstar beckoned Amberpaw forward. "Amberpaw. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and forever be loyal to your clan, even at the cost of your life?" He looked down at Amberpaw who confidently meowed.

"I do." She turned towards Briarstep, and purred.

"Then from this moment onwards you will be known as Ambershine. Your bravery and skill is remarkable, and I am proud to call you a full warrior of IceClan. Briarstep has trained you well, and I hope you continue to be an asset to our clan." Ambershine stood by her siblings and strutted out her chest in pride.

"Ryepaw. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and forever be loyal to your clan, even at the cost of your life?" Ryepaw looked into Flintstar's eyes and nodded.

"I do." He meowed.

"Then from this moment onwards you will be known as Ryeclaw. IceClan honors your loyalty and strength. Heronsky has trained you very well, and has passed down her knowledge and experience." Ryeclaw joined his sister, purring with satisfaction.

"Acornpaw. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and forever be loyal to your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then from this moment onwards you will be known as Acornfur. IceClan honors your forethought and patience. Your mentor has trained you well and I am proud to deem you a full warrior of IceClan." She joined her littermates and Cloverpaw stepped forward.

"Cloverpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and forever be loyal to your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"Yes. I do." She mewed.

"Then from this moment onwards you will be known as Cloverstem. IceClan honors your spirit and independence. Brindlestem has been a good mentor and you will make an excellent warrior.

"CLOVERSTEM! ACORNFUR! AMBERSHINE! RYECLAW! CLOVERSTEM! ACORNFUR! AMBERSHINE! RYECLAW!" The cheering echoed over the territory, Cloverstem wondered if Sparrowtail could hear the cheering all the way in LightningClan. The cats would sit vigil tonight, and guard the camp.

Yarrowspring settled down into his warm nest, looking at the four new warriors. He thought deeply, lost in his thoguhts. He remembered that when Frostflower and Flamewhisker became mates. StarClan told her something. _What was it again? Oh, yes. The four will be born to the Ice and the Flame as the twelfth moon dies._ And so it was true. Sure enough, four kits were born to Flamewhisker and Frostflower on the last moon in the dead of leaf-bare. _Unusual, it was. Kits are rarely born in leaf-bare. None of them survive. But not this time._ He rested his head on her paws and went to sleep. Dreams came quickly.

Silvery cats whirred into focus around him.

"Violetleaf." Yarrowspring looked his mentor. "You look well." Violetleaf didn't respond, she just looked at Yarrowspring. An eerie echo filled the hollow.

" _One born with courage and skill,_

 _The stars lighting her path._

 _One cursed with wretched love,_

 _Betrayal around every corner._

 _One bound with a great decision,_

 _That will destroy the clans if it's wrong._

 _One blessed with reason and loyalty,_

 _Fighting for what's right._

Yarrowspring stood in the hollow, pondering what she just heard Violetleaf say.. _Is this a message? Is this part of a prophecy?_

"Violetleaf, I don't understand. Violetleaf?" The starry cats had already disappeared and Yarrowspring woke up. The sun hadn't risen yet, but Yarrowspring rushed to Flintstar's den.

"Flintstar! This is urgent." She stormed into his den and shook him awake.

He groaned but got to his paws.

"Are we under attack? Is it PineClan?" Flintstar jumped up and looked out.

"No, Flintstar. Remember when I told you about what I heard when Flamewhisker and Frostflower announced they were expecting?"

"Yes. _The four will be born to the ice and the flame as the twelfth moon dies."_ He mewed, contemplating. "That refers to the new warriors."

"Yes. I got another message from Violetleaf." Yarrowspring said. Flintstar sat down, his eyes sparked with curiosity. "She said,

" _One born with courage and skill,_

 _The stars lighting her path._

 _One cursed with wretched love,_

 _Betrayal around every corner._

 _One bound with a great decision,_

 _That will destroy the clans if it's wrong._

 _One blessed with reason and loyalty,_

 _Fighting for what's right."_

Flintstar's eyes grew wide. " 'One born with courage and skill,' that's got to be Ambershine. 'One cursed with wretched love,' I have no idea. 'One bound with a great decision,' That one makes no sense either. But wait, 'One blessed with reason and loyalty,' That's Acornfur. It's all so confusing."

"That is what I was thinking. If you receive a message, please tell me. I think this is a part of a prophecy. I hope I will visit Violetleaf in my dreams when I take the new warriors to Moonfall. I wish I could know more." Yarrowspring meowed.

"Thank you for telling me this. Now, you should go back to sleep." Flintstar gave his medicine cat a lick on the shoulder. "Don't fret too much."

Chapter 22

It was a very boring day. Ryeclaw had border patrol on the South side- that was never very interesting for anyone as there were no Clans or other cats on that side of the mountain. Ambershine and Acornfur brought down a hawk, and after a hunting patrol, Cloverstem went… somewhere. No one really questioned her disspaearences anymore. The day was warm and windy, dry as it always was at altitude. Around sundown, the Clan all shared tongues as usual, but Squirrelfeather, Yarrowspring, and the warrior's former mentors strode over to the cats. Ryeclaw paused mid-lick from Nettlepath's shiny pelt to look up at Heronsky.

Heronsky spoke first. "We realize that we have overlooked a critical portion of your warrior training. Ryeclaw, Cloverstem-" she paused, pondering the she-cat. "Where is she these days? Anyways, Acornfur and Ambershine, too." Acornfur's eyes widened. More clearing the elder's dens and training all day?

"What is this portion?" Ryeclaw mewed urgently. He was having just the same thought as his sister.

"Moonfall," mewed Yarrowspring softly. "All apprentices must visit it at some point, and we totally… well, had a pika moment and forgot."

"Moonfall…" whispered Ambershine, mystified.

"We will be bringing Leappaw and Hoppaw next quarter-moon along with their mentors. The falls start to freeze in the winter so we have to go now, and it seems like it will be a warm moon," Squirrelfeather said.

"Well… okay then, should we tell Cloverstem?" cautioned Ambershine.

"Definitely, and while you're at it, ask her where she's been!" Heronsky stalked off to go on the midnight patrol.

The night had come for the visit to Moonfall, the sacred falls where warriors of the four mountain Clans shared wisdom with StarClan.

"Eat up, you six," mewed Yarrowspring gruffly. "I don't see how a flimsy WillowClan cat could make it up to the falls on just fish… let alone that medicine cats can't eat for a sunrise before…" The Moonfall was located at the very top of the tundra, just outside of IceClan territory, making it a small hike for IceClan cats but a full trip for anyone who had to go all the way up the entire mountain. The warriors, as well as Hoppaw and Leappaw were digging into a large eagle caught the night before. "It's tradition for the medicine cats and leaders to not eat, but anyone else in IceClan has to eat a bird of prey," grumbled Yarrowspring, obviously waiting for the cats to finish up. Licking the last scraps off of the bird's rib, the cats all sprang to their feet, ready to go.

"Alright. Traveling herbs will… not be necessary. Anyways, let's go right now." A large patrol followed the tabby-furred medicine cat, his fur glowing brown in the light. Leappaw, Hoppaw, and Acornfur all took the lead behind Yarrowspring, followed by Ryeclaw, Cloverstem, Ambershine, and all of the cat's mentors, former and present- Briarstep. Brambecloud, Brindlestem, Heronsky, Flowerhop, and Streamwing. It was an awfully large parade of pelts.

By evening (after have left at noon), the patrol arrived at a large, gaping cave entrance. "Everyone, follow me. I know where to go, it will get dark in here, but trust me and keep following the sound of my pawsteps. Yarrowspring was quickly swallowed by the cave, and the cats all followed, their entrance almost hasty to make sure Yarrowspring wasn't eaten alive by some cave monster. It might have been seconds, maybe lifetimes of padding down the tunnels, deeper and deeper, until a sound broke the silence.

"OOF!" Squeaked Hoppaw, running into Yarrowspring. The whole single-file line started bumping into each other until they realized what was causing the traffic- Yarrowspring had stopped.

"Everything okay?" mewed Streamwing cautiously. Yarrowspring walked forwards and all of the cats parted around him, the difference in air shocking their senses as the all filed into a large, damp cavern. They could barely see each other, but they knew to form a circle around the small pond inside the cave that was oddly luminescent. A waterfall found itself at the head of the cave, and Yarrowspring plopped himself down right next to it.

Suddenly, the water lit up with a brilliant glow, shining onto the cat's faces. Acornfur looked up out of the cave to see a small opening, and the moon, many fox lengths away, positioned perfectly above the hole.

"Majestic, isn't it?" mewed Yarrowspring in awe. "No funny business- no drinking it until morning. Just sleeping, and I will wake you all when it's time to go." Yarrowspring seemed well-rehearsed in this process, _go figure_ , though Ryeclaw, _he is a medicine cat_.

The cats shuffled silently around the waterfall, filing into a circle around the water and laying down. Acornfur lay awake, gazing up to the moon. She slumped down onto her paws, putting her head down and finally relaxing.

Yarrowspring stood in the middle of a tundra's spring meadow, shimmering with the sweet colors of a mountain's summer. Violetleaf's white pelt shimmered in the distance.

"Violetleaf!" Yarrowspring shouted. "Violetleaf!" The she-cat turned her head.

"Yarrowspring. I bring news from the ancestors," she mewed quietly.

"What was the last prophecy about? Who has the decision? " Yarrowspring couldn't contain himself.

"You must figure that out on your own, my apprentice."

"But-"

" _The cursed shall wander to find the noble sparrow,_

 _and the sparrow will turn and turn again._

 _As the clover is betrayed by the innocent sparrow,_

 _secrets and lies will run rampant."_

" _What?"_ mewed Yarrowspring. But it was already too late, Violetleaf was fading away. Yarrowspring wanted to hold onto the dream, to see his beloved mentor once more… but it was too late. Yarrowspring was slipping away from the meadow… just to hang on… just… he awoke with a small jolt. _What in the name of StarClan was that_? He thought, confused. What was this prophecy now…?

 _The four will be born to the Ice and the Flame as the twelfth moon dies._

 _One born with courage and skill,_

 _The stars lighting her path._

 _One cursed with wretched love,_

 _Betrayal around every corner._

 _One bound with a great decision,_

 _That will destroy the clans if it's wrong._

 _One blessed with reason and loyalty,_

 _Fighting for what's right._

 _The cursed shall wander to find the noble sparrow,_

 _and the sparrow will turn and turn again._

 _As the clover is betrayed by the innocent sparrow,_

 _secrets and lies will run rampant._

Chapter 23

Nettlepath and Ryeclaw were now mates. The news had spread across camp like wildfire, and Ambershine was the first to know. She made sure to spread the gossip as she shared tongues. By sunset, the whole clan knew. Warrior life was good. No more searching the elders for ticks, or clearing out bedding, especially with the new apprentices, Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw. They were apprenticed to Flamewhisker and Squirrelwhisker. Sadly, Dovekit was wandering on her own, and a falcon carried her away. The clan mourned the little she-cat's death. Her siblings were mortified, and had to wait an extra moon to become apprentices.

Ambershine and Acornfur gathered with the rest of the eligible warriors under Deputy Rock, the stone where Squirrelflight gave out orders.

"Okay, I need one hunting patrol." Squirrelflight scanned the warriors carefully, "Crowfoot, you lead a patrol with Brindlestem, Frostflower, and Cloverstem. Bring back a bird if you can, our supplies are running low." The cats trotted out of the camp and continued towards Lookout Rock. "I need a patrol to drench the border with scent markers. We need to make sure that PineClan doesn't have any excuses to cross our border. Driftcloud, Nettlepath, Acornfur, Flamewhisker and Hawkpaw." The patrol headed out of camp, Hawkpaw hopping along after them, her sandy pelt bouncing along. "I want to get some cats to repair the barrier, Frostflower, Briarstep, Juniperwhisker, and Redclaw." The cats turned and begun to collect rocks and sticks around camp. "Fernfang, Cherrytail, you will lead an apprentice training. Ambershine and Ryeclaw, you will help out and learn how to do it. Hoppaw, Leappaw, Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw will be there. Teach them some techniques for hunting birds, I have a decoy if you need in the Battle Skills Hollow. Wait until Hawkpaw comes back. Meanwhile, you guys can do partner hunting or you can hunt as a patrol by the vista. Acornfur, you will be the guard. There will be the queens to help you and cats will come in and out of camp. I will have Heronsky take the next shift at sun-high. Also, fetch anything that the queens need. You will help them out today." Acornfur groaned but nonetheless took her spot on the stump . Ambershine headed out with Cherrytail, for Fernfang insisted on hunting with Ryeclaw. Fernfang had crush on Ryeclaw for a while. She was always trying to brush pelts with him. Despite the fact that Nettlepath and Ryeclaw were now mates, Fernfang was still persistent.

"Let's head over to the Claw River. There are usually some young starlings around there by the sprouts." Cherrytail mewed, and she led the way towards the river. The river ran high and rushed strongly in the banks. The sand shifted under Ambershine's claws, the sun's golden rays warming it.

"There." Ambershine flicked her tail towards a trampled leaf. The salty, tangy scent of starling wafted into her nose. _Yum._ The light-ginger she-cat thought as they followed the scent trail into a patch of bright orange flowers. She crept under the small vegetation, waiting for the bird. Cherrytail approached it and sprung, sending it fluttering towards Ambershine. She leaped into the air, and swiped it down, killing it quickly. Cherrytail purred and they headed back to meet Ryeclaw and Fernfang, who returned to camp empty-pawed. Luckily, the hunting patrol returned with more food that IceClan had seen in moons. A huge bald eagle, Ambershine and Cherrytail's starling, and a snow hare, sat atop the fresh kill heap. The queens and elders tore strips of the meat, and set it in the sun to dry. Leaf-bare was coming, and IceClan was going to face it with full bellies. Meanwhile, the young warriors gathered once more to start the apprentice training. They went straight to the Battle Skills Hollow, and set up the training center. To tell you the truth, Ambershine thought that the "apprentice training done by young warriors" was just an excuse for the mentors to take a break. But, nonetheless, if she ever wanted to have an apprentice of her own, she needed to prove herself by showing that she could train the apprentices. _And you have to have trained an apprentice to become leader!_

Hawkpaw scampered over to the hollow, her mottled sandy fur groomed neatly. Eaglepaw followed her, his dark brown fur twitching with annoyance.

"Why do you have to snore so much? It's so annoying." He meowed.

"Hey! You aren't too great either, you kick up all your bedding in your sleep."

"No I don't!" He retorted.

"Yes, you do."

"Liar!" She scowled.

"You are the liar." Hawkpaw stubbornly meowed. The two siblings squabbled until they squeezed under the tunnel, into the hollow. Eaglepaw whispered something quickly to Hawkpaw, and he nodded. Hawkpaw's yellow eyes stared at Ryeclaw and Ambershine.

"This is new." The siblings pressed their pelts tightly against one another, but sat down nonetheless.

"Ambershine and Ryeclaw will be assisting with your training." Fernfang firmly meowed, with a stern stare at Hawkpaw. He looked nervously at his paws. Fernfang turned to Ryeclaw and nodded.

"Err… We are learning about the technique and skill behind catching large birds of prey today." He softly mewed, looking nervously at Ambershine.

"Why don't we work on our vertical jumping?" Ambershine suggested, eager to escape the uncomfortable moment. "Hawkpaw you go first." She indicated at the clearing, and the tom confidently strode into the area. He tucked in his haunches and flicked his white tail tip. He crouched and then leaped, turning in the air and clawed the air, bringing down a leaf that danced in the air. He tumbled to the ground and landed firmly.

"Good job! Excellent. Keep your tail straight, and don't tuck it in. It will keep your balance. Eaglepaw, you're next." She nervously stepped forwards. She didn't tuck her haunches in, but instead reared on her hind legs, and then leaped into the air, gaining height. She awkwardly landed on her back, but got higher than her brother had. She looked ashamed, and plodded over to her brother.

"Not bad." Cherrytail meowed.

"Your leap was high, but after that, your landing was poor. If you can get a hold on the bird, you will slow down. But, you always need to land with your back paws first." Ambershine meowed. "When we took down our first bird, Brindlestem made the mistake of diving above the bird, instead of pulling it down. That's why the catch wasn't as clean. We want a good, clean catch. You want to make sure you aren't on top of the bird. Otherwise, we have a much more dangerous situation." Ambershine did it this time, leaping high into the air, while not diving again head first. "But your height is very good. I like the way you approached it."

"Okay." She nodded and then reared up again and leaped once again. She spun and landed fairly well, stumbling a little on her feet.

"Nice." Ryeclaw added. Practicing continued until Eaglepaw completed it with ease. Cherrytail pulled out the training dummy and dangled it in the air.

"Now try." She mewed. The two cats each went to a different wing, and pulled it down successfully.

"Wow! Very good." Fernfang mewed. "Let's do it a few more times, and then you two can head back into camp." After the training session, Hawkpaw and Eaglepaw went straight to their nests, tired from training.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 24

Cloverstem had always found that the lower valleys were her safe zone, especially after the first frost came to the mountains. It was disgusting- everything was rocky and barren and dead. But the valleys! Oh, the valleys! The aspens would turn vibrant orange and red and yellow and fall to the ground like little parachutes, landing in cute clear mountain streams below.

She opened her eyes to the midmorning sun right in her face. _What time is it?_ Cloverstem though. She had a magical night with Sparrowtail before… how late was she out last night? Who knew. Whatever. Morning patrol… probably left already. Hopefully she could catch the noon border patrol… or maybe the daily patrol to the South side of the mountain. She loved that place. IceClan had a lot of land- anywhere where there were no trees, and around the PineClan border, there were a few straggler pines. But that was on the North face of the mountain- if you were to travel directly south up the mountain, and then down the cliffs, you would find the lightly patrolled IceClan boundary tucked neatly at the treeline. There were great views of the valley below, but it seemed uninhabited. Who knew why.

"Cloverstem, I decided to let you sleep. I didn't realize I was gone on hunting patrol for so long!" Cloverstem whirled around to find her brother staring at her, several dead pikas at his feet.

"Eh. I'll try to get on a patrol sometime today…" She walked out of the den to Squirrelfeather, who was sunning herself with Juniperwhisker at her side.

"Excuse me, can I join a patrol sometime today?" _I'd better start helping out around here… or someone will start thinking I'm up to something…_

"Well, I think you can join your father and Squirrelwhisker on training their apprentices… I think they're learning the half-turn belly rake today… they're in the Battle Skills Hollow, why don't you go join them?"

"Errrm, alright." _That was the most awkward conversation in my life,_ thought Cloverstem as she padded off to the hollow. "Squirrelwhisker? Flamewhisker? Eaglepaw? Hawkpaw?" She said as the entered the hollow.

"OOFF!" Hawkpaw bounded off a rock and landed squarely on Cloverstem. "Good move!"

"Cloverstem. Here to join us?" Mewed Flamewhisker to his daughter. "Hawkpaw, Eaglepaw. Let's try… three-on-two dueling, Squirrelwhisker and I against both of you and Cloverstem. Use the terrain for an advantage and plan with your team ahead of time." Cloverstem trotted off with the two apprentices and the group hid behind a rock.

"Alright. I've got an idea. I will go into the middle of the hollow, and both of you flank me behind the rocks." Eaglepaw flicked his tail to his teammates. "Then I lure them out, we strike once, and then retreat. We can confuse them by going back behind the rocks, and they will try to see where we are going but as soon as we loose their eye contact, be recoil and strike again. Good it?" Hawkpaw and Cloverstem nodded, bewildered. Cloverstem looked above the rocks.

"I think they're ready. Eaglepaw, go!" Eaglepaw darted out into the middle of the Battle Skills Hollow, ready for the strike. Flamewhisker and Squirrelwhisker strutted out into the ring, pouncing on the dark brown tabby apprentice. Cloverstem could just make out Hawkpaw's mottled sandy coat from behind the rocks. She jumped onto her hiding rock, and then into the hollow, attacking Squirrelwhisker. The sandy-haired she-cat landed several play blows on Cloverstem, but suddenly a sound of rushing wind from the sky.

A blur of reddish and brown feathers. Wings. Talons aimed directly at Eaglepaw's tabby fur. Eaglepaw whipped around to face is feathered attacker. Yellow eyes and a black beak opened up and a low-pitched screech sounded in the air. Without thinking, Cloverstem latched onto the hawk's dark grey primary feathers. They popped from the hawk, sending her back down to the ground. Spitting out the feathery mess, Cloverstem remembered what she learned the first time she hunted an eagle. She grasped onto the wing, holding, holding on… a loud pop. The bird shrieked, but Cloverstem knew the noise wasn't from her. She still hung on for dear life… Squirrelwhisker chomped onto the other wing… Flamewhisker leaped onto it's back! Cloverstem's father was going for the killing blow… if only the eagle would stop thrashing! Cloverstem started to feel her jaws slipping. She couldn't readjust- the hawk's wing would come out of her grasp and hurt Flamewhisker, who was on the hawk's back…

"HELP ME!" Cloverstem shouted down to Hawkpaw. He leaped up and chomped the bird right where the wing meet its body, causing the hawk to shriek in pain and try to bite Hawkpaw. But the little apprentice was smarter- he leaped out of the way slightly backwards- just out of the hawk's biting range. He bit down hard, blood streaking and gushing down his face into his eyes. Blinking rapidly, he hung onto the bird as it struggled against all of the cats holding it down. Cloverstem was mortified at this bird's strength. Sure, birds of prey required some cats to take down, but Squirrelwhisker, Flamewhisker, Eaglepaw, Hawkpaw, and herself were all holding onto it. Cloverstem couldn't keep track of time. She just held on, biting with all her might, hoping that this would end. But the bird showed no sign of stopping- it would thrash and throw off a cat occasionally, but they would just hop back on. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days? Moons? Lifetimes?

Cats appeared on the horizon. Streamwing, Nettlepath, and Ryeclaw were all sprinting towards the scene, mortified and stunned at the battle taking place. Without communicating, the cats threw themselves onto the bird in all the proper positions for a killing blow. Nettlepath hopped right onto the neck, ready to snap the bird's neck- but the red bird threw her off. Nettlepath landed on the ground in shock, her eyes wide at the hawk. How had it gotten her off? She was the best bird-killer in the Clan.

"Let go, everyone!" said Squirrelwhisker. "It can't fly away now!" Squirrelwhisker was right. As all of the cats released their grasps, and they could see the bird in depth. She was huge, reddish brown with a white spotted underbelly, but she would be so much more grand with her feathers. She was gushing blood from a limp wing and underneath her wing and she had almost none of her feathers.

"It's too late to turn back!" Said Streamwing.

"Let's finish this," mewed Flamewhisker grimly, his eyes empty of emotion. With Flamewhisker's command, all of the cats leaped onto the bird, taking their positions. Nettlepath leaped onto it's back once more, but the bird unwillingly submitted to the cat's vicious bites. The hawk was going limp beneath the claws. As soon as Nettlepath leaped to it's neck, it let out a quiet shriek. Nettlepath locked her jaws down hard on it's neck. A crack. The bird went silent.

Chapter 25

The warriors stood in a stunned silence. The hawk lay dead in the middle of the Battle Skills Hollow, it's neck strewn at a strange angle, eyes glossy, bloody, and empty. It was missing the majority of it's feathers on it's wing. Blood still gushed from several deep gashes and it's right wing was twisted and contorted behind it's back. Eaglepaw looked solemnly down at the mangles carcass.

"We should have tried harder. Ended it quicker. She would have taken my life quickly had she got me. We made her suffer." Eaglepaw spoke with a grim time with the seriousness of a senior warrior.

"Eaglepaw, I would say that she deserved it, attacking cats in the bounty of midsummer," Flamewhisker paused. "But you have a clear mind. We thank you for your judgement." Eaglepaw nodded and looked at the ground.

"We should bring the carcass back to camp. We've gotten so messy, the cougars and bears might get interested." As if on cue, after Streamwing spoke, a murder of crows overhead squawked, circling the bloody body.

"This is going to take a while to clean up," said Hawkpaw. Blood from the mangled body sept out into the rock crevasses, staining the alpine soil.

"Well, it's not going to get back by itself!" Mewed Ryeclaw. He strode towards the carcass and picked it up by it's snapped neck. He jumped up the rocks leading out of the hollow all the way back to camp, careful not to leave a trail of blood. Cloverstem walked away from the hollow out the other way.

Stopping at the top of a rock, she said, "I'm going solo hunting around the North Side!" The rest of the cats below stared. _Better end this now,_ she thought as she strode out of their view. As soon as the hollow was out of sight, she whipped back around down the mountain. What better use of her time then to see Sparrowtail? He was always on the same solo hunting patrol every day at the same time in the same place- high up on the LightiningClan border, close to the edge of the territory.

Cloverstem had taken this route many times before. It was well-patrolled, so that her scent wouldn't stand out too much. She crossed the well-marked border directly into PineClan territory, taking no heed to the uncomfortably close PineClan scents. Running down the mountain, she paused for a moment to look back. Three sets of pelts shone back at her, the sun rising behind them. But… they were IceClan pelts. Bramblecloud, Fernfang, and Cherrytail were what she was seeing. They were standing on a high ridge… probably looking for her! Cloverstem turned tail and ran. She had better not accidently run into a PineClan patrol… that battle had stirred up PineClan's sense of border security for moons afterwards. She sprinted down her well-trodden path right through the territory, trotting all the way down to LightningClan. The trees became denser, the paths lusher, the plants greener. She loved this transformation. The bluebells waved her way, the fireweed bowed at her paws. The LightningClan highlands was her land. Now… where was Sparrowtail?

Cloverstem sat down in the meadow. She rolled on her stomach… Sparrowtail. When was he going to be here. Cloverstem looked up to the trees. He came through the branches sometimes… where in the name of StarClan was he? Biding her time, Cloverstem froliked in the feilds like she was a kit again. How nice it was, down in the LightningClan highlands… yes, yes… the birds were singing, the grasses lush and the ground coated with squishy pine nettles. She bounced up and down, up the tree trunks and down again. Sparrowtail had told Cloverstem that the secret to his Clan's success was that they specialized in hunting birds and squirrels above ground, and mostly patrolling their borders and keeping watch from the canopy. He'd taught her some about how to climb, why not try? It was early autumn, things were cooling down. She wouldn't overheat.

Cloverstem stepped up to the nearest trunk, sizing the tree up. It was a good-sized spruce tree… better for digging her claws into but the branches were flimsier. _Let's do this_ , she thought as she gripped the trunk. She dug her long claws deep into the flesh of the tree and hurled her hindquarters up, digging in with her back claws. Unhinging her front claws, she did this over and over again until she was up to a hardy branch. She unhinged her paws and placed them gingerly on the branch. She was so high up… Cloverstem couldn't bear to look down, but she did and the world started spinning. Looking away from the ground and back at the tree, she leaped fully onto the branch. There was only a little light here… she'd better get higher so she could see the full network of branches that LightningClan patrolled. So she did. Dig into the tree, unhinge. Dig, unhinge. The rhythmic pattern kept her satisfied. Finally, after what seemed like eons, she reached a branch with clawmarks scattered about it and the bark worn away in some parts. _This is it_ , she thought. _The network_. Cloverstem looked up. The branch lead to another well-trodden one, and another… the paths lingered together, showing the claw scratches and the effects of generation after generation padding through the canopy. Being brave, Cloverstem decided to step out further into the branch. But she just had to look down… that was a mistake. As soon as she shifted her eye contact she felt as if she was going to faint! She had to be at least forty fox-lengths above the meadow below. She could feel her balance compromising, her paws slipping, her graph loosening- NO. She looked straight up. None of that.

Cloverstem had had enough of trees. Scrambling down the trunk rather ungracefully, she put all four paws on the ground once more. Now where was Sparrowtail? Cloverstem looked around and came to her senses. She was frolicking happily in LightningClan territory. She'd better get out. Her only line of safety was that Sparrowtail usually patrolled these parts, alone. But maybe he was stuck at camp for the day? What if she was late? Turning tail, Cloverstem decided to go all the way back to IceClan. A fruitless mission.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 26

Ryeclaw stepped up the rocks, his neck sore and jaws loosening their grasp on the mangled bird. Dropping it down a fresh-kill storage hole, he stared at the carcass. The body was still warm, still bleeding out… the eyes empty and glassy… the feathers half-missing. In his few moons of life, Ryeclaw had never seen something so gruesome. Kills were always cleaner than this. Who cared the bird was attacking a cat when prey was abundant- they caused her unneeded suffering. His head hung low, Ryeclaw plodded back to camp. Stepping in, all eyes turned to him.

"Did you kill it?"

"Is everyone okay?"

"How'd it go?"

Ryeclaw paused. He thought slowly about what he was about to say. It was usually leaders and medicine cats what he was about to do, not young warriors.

"I know I'm not in the authority to do this, but I think that everyone on that patrol will agree with me." He looked up at the gathering crowd. Flintstar, Yarrowspring, and Goldenfeather came out of their dens. The elders crept cautiously out.

"I would like to suggest an addition to the fourth segment of the warrior code." The clan gasped. "That not only is prey killed only to be eaten and to give thanks for it's life-" Ryeclaw swallowed. "-but that it must be killed cleanly and swiftly."

"Why do you suggest this?" Said Goldenfeather softly.

"When we were trying to kill that hawk after it attacked Eaglepaw, we made it suffer for much longer than we needed. If we had tried harder, the results would be much less gruesome." Ryeclaw looked down at the ground in guilt as Yarrowspring walked over to the fresh-kill hole. Yarrowspring leaped back and wrinkled his nose.

"I agree to Ryeclaw's proposal," he mewed from a few fox-lengths away. "This bird obviously went through much suffering before she died, we must stop this from ever happening again!" Ryeclaw sighed in relief.

"I think it's a good idea!"

"Mmmmkay…"

"When's the next gathering?"

"How do you change the warrior code?"  
"What will the other Clans think about it."

The chorus of mews continued until Flintstar yowled, "SILENCE!" Ryeclaw lept back. Did Flintstar not like the rule? "I agree with Ryeclaw's suggestion." Ryeclaw sighed in relief. "It is half-moon tonight, is it not?"

"Yes, sir. Tonight Yarrowspring and I will consult with StarClan about the addition," mewed Goldfeather.

"Then it will be, then. If your warrior ancestors say otherwise, let us consider the warrior code changed. Section four, all verses. ' _Prey is killed only to be eaten. The life must be taken cleanly and swiftly, and give thanks to StarClan for its life.'_ " The Clan erupted in celebration. "SILENCE!" Flintstar yowled again. "All in favour, stand by the nursery. All against, medicine den." The clan all walked towards the nursery without hesitation.

"What's going on?" Bramblecloud said. He was flanked by Streamwing, Cherrytail, and Fernfang.

"Ryeclaw has suggested a new addition for section four of the warrior code about hunting prey- that the life must be taken cleanly and swiftly," mewed Leappaw.

"I will suggest the new rule next gathering. In the meanwhile, we will deem it true and bound in code," said Flintstar. "If, for some reason, the other Clans do not accept it, we will still take it as a foundation of IceClan law."

"Flamewhisker's going to be so proud of you!" Bubbled Frostflower as she bounced over to her son, her pale green eyes overflowing with excitement. As if on cue, Flamewhisker trotted into camp.

"DAD!" Ryeclaw yowled. "You wouldn't believe this!"

"He suggested a new addition for the warrior code! And Flintstar's going to suggest it!" Mewed Frostflower as she brushed pelts with her mate. Flamewhisker looked his son directly in the eyes.

"I'm proud of you, Ryeclaw. I knew you would do great things one day." Acornfur walked into camp, a confused look on her face and a marmot in her jaws.

"What's going on?" She said, dropping the marmot. "By the way, did you see what was in the fresh-kill storag-"

"The hawk tried to attack Eaglepaw, but we made it suffer when we did it. I suggested a new part for the warrior code," Ryeclaw mewed to his littermate.

"Are… are we going to, erm, eat it?"

"Well, I guess we have to follow the code. I was just thinking- we should get it out of that hole and let the body bleed out on a far side of the territory so that it doesn't stink up camp," said Ryeclaw. Acornfur bounded up to Flintstar.

"Can Ryeclaw and I bleed the bird out on the West Cliff? So that it doesn't attract predators or stink up camp?"

"Indeed. Bring Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw, and feel free to eat some of it, as well." Flintstar looked distant, his eyes unfocused somewhere in the sky. Acornfur trotted of to get her brother and the apprentices.

Chapter 27

Flintstar retreated to the confines of his den. He walked slowly around Highrock to the leader's cave, it's black mouth eager to swallow the black tom. Flintstar submitted and stalked into the mouth. He plunked his sore bones down on a pile of down feathers from a rare bird- a bald eagle he took down as his first bird. He loved those feathers. Goldfeather tried to convince Flintstar to change them out for ptarmigan feathers to keep out parasites, but Flintstar only added some feathers. The bald eagle feathers smelled faintly of his beloved sister, Rainshade. She died the night after their warrior vigil from a marmot bite infected with the dreaded incurable cloudmouth disease. She ran off the territory down the South side alone and her body was found by a search patrol, and she seemingly died from dehydration but Flintstar, who was sitting vigil for her, found that her paw was twisted and a huge bruise on her skull. _But no time for dwelling on sad past now,_ thought the leader. He stared out of his den's open mouth to his clan, bumbling and socializing in the clearing. He couldn't relax. Not with the prophecy looming over his head. He looked sideways. Yarrowspring!

"Greetings, Flintstar."

"When did you get here?"

"No mind. Flintstar, I need to talk to you. When I was at the moonfall with, well, _the crew_ …"

"Mmmhmmm?"

"I got a new part to the prophecy." Flintstar sat up straight and looked the tom directly in the eyes.

" _The four will be born to the Ice and the Flame as the twelfth moon dies._

 _One born with courage and skill,_

 _The stars lighting her path._

 _One cursed with wretched love,_

 _Betrayal around every corner._

 _One bound with a great decision,_

 _That will destroy the clans if it's wrong._

 _One blessed with reason and loyalty,_

 _Fighting for what's right._

 _The cursed shall wander to find the noble sparrow,_

 _and the sparrow will turn and turn again._

 _As the clover is betrayed by the innocent sparrow,_

 _secrets and lies will run rampant."_

" ' That will destroy the Clans if it's wrong? Cloverstem's cursed? Who's Sparrow? The innocent Sparrow? Secrets and lies?'"

"I'm sorry, Flintstar, but the ancestors didn't specify." Yarrowspring paused. "But I'm concerned. About Cloverstem. It said that there would be a cursed. Would it be cursed love or a decision? It specifies more about the Clover- probably Cloverstem. So I think she's cursed." Flintstar looked down at the ground, but Yarrowspring continued. "So that would explain the whole "sparrow" thing. She somehow finds… Sparrow. She falls in love. Sparrow "turns and turns again"- maybe trying to decide whether to continue or not. He's pushed over the edge with her, or maybe pressures from life and he breaks up the relationship or reveals it or something- "betraying." Now, "secrets and lies running rampant," I have no clue." Yarrowspring took some breaths and seemed delighted to get that off his chest. He sighed and Flintstar started, but it seemed he still comprehended the medicine cat's speech.

"Flintstar, I know you need time to process this. I do, too. Consult Driftcloud if you want- she might be good at decoding this. But I'm going to need to try to find Violetleaf next time.." Yarrowspring looked to the sky.

Acornfur blinked and rolled over in her nest. But the sunlight was suddenly blocked- a white cat with amber splotches stood over Acornfur. Aspenclaw. Always a handsome warrior although slightly younger than she. Acornfur remembered when Aspenclaw and his littermates were born- quite a while afterwards Eaglepaw and Hawkpaw, and much later than Hoppaw and Leappaw. They were almost warriors, come to think of it.

Crowfoot's leading a patrol to PineClan border. Want to come? We need more cats." Aspenclaw glanced over at Driftcloud and Crowfoot.

"Sure! Who says no to intimidating those lowland trouble-starters?" Acornfur giggled as she walked side-by-side with Aspenclaw.

"Ready to go?" Crowfoot mewed at the two cats. He got to his feet and Driftcloud followed. Crowfoot flicked his tail at the cats as he padded out of camp. He took the lead in front of the patrol, leading them down the tundra rocks as Acornfur and Aspenclaw chatted in the back.

"Do you remember when we were kits and we saw Fernfang and Cherrytail's warrior ceremony?"

"And a big mosquito was buzzing around our faces? Yup!" Acornclaw giggled.

"Remember what Frostflower said to us?"

" She didn't see the bug- I remember! She was all like, 'If you want to jump around and squirm, do it in the nursery'."

"We're approaching PineClan boundary," mewed Crowfoot. "Keep your wits about you." Acornfur could see something in the distance… that was a cat! Or was it just a really big marmot?

"What's that?" She mewed. The from bent down to sniff something. That was where Ryeclaw and the others ate some of the hawk and stored it… this was definitely a cat. Not IceClan, for sure. No IceClan cat had this cat's stiff brown short fur. Driftcloud sniffed the air.

"GET DOWN!" She hissed and slunk down to the ground. The rest of the patrol followed. "Crowfoot, go to the north side. Aspenclaw to the west and I'll take the south. Acornfur to the east. We'll surround it and cut him off." Driftcloud darted down the rocks, her skinny from slinking between the boulders so that the invader would now see. Crowfoot sunk low to the ground and headed up the mountain face. Aspenclaw followed above him, all the way to the invader's side. Acornfur looked up to see Driftcloud's swishing tail and the glint of Aspenclaw's pale green eyes. Crowfoot was stalking forewards at an easy pace. Acornfur reached the cat, only a few fox-lengths away from him. She looked out from behind a boulder to see all of the patrol, ready to strike. Crowfoot emerged first.

"This is IceClan land. What are you doing here?" Snareled Crowfoot, his mousey brown and black fur billowing dramatically in the wind. The three other warrior emerged from their places.

"We demand an answer!" Growled Aspenclaw.

"I-I-uh, um… I'm so sorry! I, uh, this is your territory?" Sputtered the tom, his brilliant yellow eyes shining.

"We're waiting. What are you doing here?" Acornfur narrowed her eyes.

"I was looking for a traveling partner. I smelled cats," the tom mewed solemnly as he averted his gaze to the ground.

"Let's take him back to camp. Flintstar will know what to do," mewed Driftcloud, her brilliant blue eyes narrowed at this intruder.

"The camp? Our camp? With Ryeclaw's kits? I am sorry to go against you, Driftcloud, but this is a bad idea. You will be putting Nettlepath and Ryeclaw's kits in moral danger," said Aspenclaw.

"When has one cat ever dared to attack IceClan in their own camp?" Driftcloud narrowed her eyes at the young warrior. "Escort him."

"Where are you from?" Mewed Flintstar.

"My mother was a traveler, we lived on the outskirts of the Clans until my family was all killed by a coyote attack."

"Mmmhhhmmm. You were wishing for a travel partner?" The cat nodded. All eyes of the Clan were fixed on him. "Would you like to train as an IceClan warrior?" Murmurs of shock circled around the gathered cats.

"That… that is such a kind offer! Do you really mean it?" Flintstar surveyed his Clan.

"All in favor, please stand by the nursery." About three-fourths of the Clan plodded over to where Nettlepath, Breezekit, Poppykit, and Honeykit were standing. "Then it's decided, then. StarClan, I haven't even learned your name!"

"Mudta-" The cat paused like he just said something wrong. "Muddy. My mum called me Muddy."

"By the powers of StarClan, I name you Muddypaw as an apprentice of IceClan. Juniperwhisker!" Flintstar paused to look at the massive bluish mottled senior warrior. "Muddypaw, Juniperwhisker will be your mentor." Juniperwhisker stepped over to touch noses with the new apprentice.

"Muddypaw! Juniperwhisker! Muddypaw! Juniperwhisker! Muddypaw! Juniperwhisker!" The Clan cheered. Ryeclaw walked over to Ambershine and Acornfur.

"I don't like the look of this Mud character," Ryeclaw whispered into his sister's ears. "He smells of pine sap and dusty old pine needles. PineClan scent. He's not going to be good in the winter- his pelt is short and stiff. He has big paws- that's a good thing for snow but his claws are too sharp and tender. They can't toughen up. He'll complain when his paws get sore and hurt in the snow when it scrapes his paws. He'll just be another weak mouth to feed. He'll take food from Nettlepath and my kits!"

"Calm down, Ryeclaw." Acornclaw leaned against her brother.

"He'll learn!" Said Ambershine sweetly.

"Hurmph," Ryeclaw sighed. He stalked off to his den, his tail thrashing in anger.

"Well he's bitter," mewed Acornfur flatly.

"I remember the day at the gathering, many moons before you were born- PineClan said they had accepted a rogue into their Clan- Stormfire. He was white with red freckles. Boy, that was uncharacteristic of PineClan. But that tom was strong. Some still think he was a kittypet, though. Rouges and loners just don't have that coat." It was Driftcloud who spoke. She went over to see Ryeclaw. "Don't worry, you can get used to him. It's not like he's your apprentice!"

Ryeclaw sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 28

Cloverstem stared nervously down the mountain. _What if he went back? What if he was caught? What if he didn't love her anymore?_

Why did he have to be the one going down to see her? She suggested this as a way for him to see the territory, but what if he couldn't make it? What if he didn't love her enough?

A short brown pelt came into view. Cloverstem immediately sprinted down to the tom.

"Cloverstem!" Sparrowtail's soft glowing eyes came to meet hers.

"Oh, I've missed you so much!" Cloverstem bubbled to the tom and immediately wrapped her tail around him. Sparrowtail smiled nervously.

"Cloverstem…"

"Yea?"

"Well, um, I-" Cloverstem looked directly at Sparrowtail. "Nevermind."

"Let's run," Cloverstem mewed gently. Sparrowtail smiled back at her. Together, they walked through the territory, the sun setting behind them, their tails weaving together in the sunset.

"So how have you been doing?" Cloverstem questioned.

"Well, decent actually. Me, anyways. Well, I guess your Clan will all find out at the gathering about Shrewfur…"

"What happened?'

"Shrewfur had been expecting Gorsenose's kits for a while now and it's been a hard pregnancy for her. She and Gorsenose are both old… and the kits didn't come soon, but when they did, only Wishkit, the lastborn survived. Flowerkit and Rosekit both died as soon as they were named, so Shrewfur named Wishkit on impulse. She actually was planning to name her Lilykit, but… the whole Clan got shaken pretty hard and Sweetspring says Shrewfur will never fully recover…"

"That's so sad! Poor Wishkit, what does she look like?"

"Fiery red with yellow eyes, like her mother's eyes and her father's pelt." The cats stood in silence for a moment. "Oh! On a happier note, Snowpaw, Hailpaw, and Rainpaw are now apprentices to Redspots, Brownear, and Blacktail."

"So now all the color cats have apprentices?" giggled Cloverstem. It was an ongoing joke between Cloverstem and Sparrowtail about a large group of littermates in LightningClan- all named after colors- Brownear, Greeneye, Blacktail, Redspots, and Bluetoe.

Sparrowtail giggled. "Yup, but Whisperpaw and Quietpaw will become warriors earlier." The two cats walked together in silence, Cloverstem leaning into Sparrowtail's flank.

"This is the lookout rock!" Cloverstem bumbled over to the rock, and Sparrowtail padded reasonably behind her. "Best view in the mountains." Sparrowtail stepped onto the rock, and the two cats gazed out into the evening stars.

"It's beautiful."

"Just like us."

Chapter 29

Acornfur had a mission. She was going to find out what was happening. LightningClan had been an ally to IceClan for quite a long time, unlike PineClan. But when Crowfoot burst into camp with his patrol and reported LightningClan scents in the heart of the territory, everyone was stunned. But the Clan was even more stunned when Crowfoot reported that it mingled with a scent of IceClan, the Clan was ready to launch an invasion on LightningClan. But Acornfur had her suspicions- she still didn't find out what happened on the morning many moons ago when she had Ratcough, but she knew for sure that Cloverstem's scent went to LightningClan territory. What was even happening? But Acornfur was on a mission- a spy mission.

It was evening and Acornfur, who stayed on gamp-guarding duty to conserve energy, was ready to see what was up. Sure enough, Cloverstem got up and walked out of camp. Acornfur looked around- all was silent. She got up, shook herself off, and stepped out of her nest. Sliking out of camp, she caught sight of her sister's fur in the moonlight ahead of her. Cloverstem stopped. Acornfur froze. But Cloverstem kept walking… going… and Acornfur followed behind her, retracting her claws to keep quiet. This was definitely it. It was Cloverstem's scent last night. It had to be! But why was she out there?

Cloverstem kept going. She just… kept going. So Acornfur tucked in her claws and silently padded down the rocks, following her sister. But… she passed the border! She… she passed the border markers. Acornfur had to get help. No passing out this time.

Acornfur sprinted, as fast as she could back to camp. She had to get Ambershine and Ryeclaw before she got away… Acornfur went directly back to camp, sprinting silently into the warrior's den. She nudged Ambershine with her claw.

"Nurggggghhhhh?"

"Ambershine! No time to explain! Get up!" She poked her brother's brown fur. "Get up! Now! Come on!" Ryeclaw and Ambershine sprung to their feet and followed Acornfur out of camp. "Look, I think it was Cloverstem last night. When… when I had Ratcough, I followed her scent to LightningClan… long story! I- she's going away again."

"This is where she's been?" Ryeclaw was coming to his senses.

"I don't know. That's why I'm following her. Come on!" Acornfur lead her sister and brother to where she was Cloverstem last, but Ambershine's claws still scratched the rock loudly. "Shhhh!" Ambershine sheathed her claws. The patrol came close to the border, and Cloverstem was nowhere in sight.

"Wait- we're crossing the border?" Ambershine looked stunned. Acornfur nodded grimly at her sister.

"And who exactly takes the blame when we get caught?" Ryeclaw obviously did not want to go on. Acornfur glared at him.

"Let's go." And with that, they crossed the PineClan-IceClan border, into the dry pine forest. Acornfur lead the way, following their sister's scent trail down, down the mountainside through stretches of PineClan territory that were obviously very badly patrolled. No one had trod this land in days, except Cloverstem, of course. The trail became stronger and more recent quickly as the warriors crossed the PineClan-LightningClan border. _What in the name of StarClan is she doing here?_ The small patrol came upon a clearing… and…

It was their sister.

The cats stopped dead in their tracks. She was with a sleek-pelted brown tabby tom… a LightningClan cat. They were… playing. In the clearing. Their sister. Playing with a LightningClan cat. What was even happening?

Ryeclaw didn't think for a moment of what to do next. He flicked his tail, and his littermates followed him into the clearing, slinking low to the ground. They took their positions around their sister and the LightningClan cat, and Acornfur stepped out of the moonlit shadows. But the LightningClan tom began to speak.

"I'm glad I could see you tonight, Cloverstem."

"Sparrowtail, something… something, well…"

"What is it?"

"I'm carrying our kits."

"CLOVERSTEM!" Acornfur shouted to her sister, her voice laced with betrayal. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF STARCLAN ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Sparrowtail and Cloverstem whipped around, their eyes wide with terror.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Cloverstem shouted back at the sister. Ryeclaw and Ambershine stepped out of the shadows.

"Cloverstem, this will never work. You are IceClan and I am LightningClan. I- I've thought of this for some time but this will not work! This-" Sparrowtail lashed his tail and Cloverstem's littermates- "Proves it. This will not work. This is against the warrior code and against my policy and if we continue we will sink down to the dirt."

"Sparrowt-t-t-tail… S-s-s-s-parrowtail! I-I-I-I thought you loved me" Cloverstem was sobbing.

"What were you thinking? You loved me. And for some time I loved you. But this can't be. The life for our kits, Cloverstem! Remember Wishkit!" This was obviously tearing Sparrowtail apart to say. Even though Cloverstem's three littermates were obviously furious, they could see where the tom was coming from. Blossomstar and Flintstar had good evidence to exile Cloverstem or Sparrowtail from the Clans entirely. Cloverstem stood up straight and faced her littermates, ready to strike.

"And what are you all doing here?"

"We followed you for a matter of fact," stated Ryeclaw firmly.

"So it was you and him that were scented last night!" Ambershine was in utter shock and betrayal shone in the depths of her pale green eyes.

"Flintstar has grounds to exile you from IceClan, sister!" Acornfur spoke in a reasonable way. _Crick._

The cats froze and looked behind them. _Crack._

Blue eyes shone through the bushes. A dark grey tabby she-cat stepped out.

"And what exactly is going on here?" She spoke in a cold, menacing voice.

"Pebbleflower." Sparrowtail averted his gaze as he spoke. "This is not what it looks like." The she-cat glared at her clanmate and more cats stepped out following the tabby. A dark ginger tabby tom spoke first.

"Not to hasty, Pebbleflower. Let's have these cats tell their tale." Mewed the tom. Pebbleflower sighed.

"Fine. You!" The she-cat flicked her tail too Ryeclaw. "Why are IceClan cats trespassing on our territory?"

"We tracked our sister's trail down the mountain, and we ended up here." Ambershine flicked her furry tail to Cloverstem. "It seems like this has been happening for a while now, between my sister and your warrior." She spoke with the authority of a leader.

"Whisperpaw, run back to camp and get Blossomstar over here, NOW. Grassfur, Swanbreeze, Emberheart, Thistlestripe, and Hillwhisker, get Flintstar down here pronto." Pebbleflower stared at Ambershine.

"I can get Flintstar, thank you very much. Sending five cats blindly into enemy territory will lead to a straight attack by any of our patrols in their right mind!"

"And you should be glad we aren't taking all four of you prisoner." Ambershine stood strong.

"I will be going to find Flintstar now, whether you like it or not!" She darted out and up the mountain at top speed, but Pebbleflower did nothing to stop her. She instead turned her gaze to Ryeclaw, Acornfur, and Cloverstem. "No funny buisness. Hillwhisker and Thistlestripe, escort Sparrowtail back to camp and Blossomstar will decide what to do with him later." A flame-point warrior and a light tan tabby took their places beside Sparrowtail.

"Wait!" Acornfur mewed.

"What?" Pebbleflower stared at her.

"He renounced Cloverstem. He didn't want to do this." Cloverstem started sobbing again.

"That's right. I didn't want it to come down to this, Cloverstem. But you forced me in. I'm forcing myself out." Sparrowtail looked the sobbing she-cat directly in the eyes. He turned to his escorts. "Let's go back to camp."

Ambershine appeared through the trees, sprinting. Flintstar, ready to strike followed after her with Heronsky and Redclaw. Yarrowspring followed behind them, seemingly preparing for something and Pebbleflower was about to speak when Flintstar interrupted her.

"I heard the entire story. Cloverstem." He turned to the she-cat. "I have grounds to exile you not just from IceClan, but the mountain and all of the Clans." He paused. "And as a matter of fact, I am very close to doing that." Ryeclaw didn't in any way want his sister exiled, but she betrayed the Clan! How long had she been seeing Sparrowtail? What was even happening?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 30

"May we now gather to discuss the events of recent committed between LightningClan young warrior Sparrowtail and IceClan young warrior Cloverstem." Although she was supposed to look directly at the crowds at the trial, the WillowClan leader Plumstar looked straight ahead into the night, with a blank stare. "Please step forward." Acornfur wanted so badly to help her sister, who was now standing in the center of attention, the four Clans gathered around her. Her eyes were filling with tears for her sister's sake.

"Cloverstem, please speak first."

"I… I thought he l-l-l-loved me! How could he be-betray m-m-me? H-h-h-he promised he would never betray me! Ne-e-ever renounce me! Whatever it t-t-t-took," Cloverstem bawled to Plumstar and a jury of warriors. Flintstar scowled.

"I mean not be rude, but I do believe it is the right of IceClan and LightningClan to deal with affairs by themselves without other Clans interfering." He rolled his eyes at the jury.

"Excuse me, Flintstar! These rules were set in place by Wisp and her kits! We will not have you breaking them!" Plumstar sharply glared at the IceClan leader.

"The rules that all Clans must bring their best warriors to a meeting far away from their territory on a night where they could be doing much better things to give opinions on something that does not involve their Clan? Hear me out, Plumstar, I don't know, I might have misunderstood, but Wisp and the Founder's code clearly states that all parties involved in any incidences must give their full voice to the issue that must be considered by an unbiased judging party." He paused for emphasis. "Which does not mean that all of the Clans must gather. It does not mean that we must have this," he flicked his tail to the jury, "in the scale that it is. Now, if you would excuse Blossomstar, her warriors, and my party, we can deal with these affairs cleanly and quietly ourselves!" He glared at Plumstar and Ashstar. "IceClan will be leaving now." His warriors that came to the trial looked at their leader, stunned. "Are we going or not?" Acornfur, Ryeclaw, Ambershine, Cloverstem, Yarrowspring, Squirrelfeather, Driftcloud and Crowfoot all followed Flintstar, leaving the trial at the gathering barn. Juniperwhisker and Flowerhop hesitated before following the rest of the Clan, but all of IceClan followed their leader out of the barn under the dim light of the moon. They proceeded through WillowClan territory, their long fur getting caught on low-lying willow branches and bushes.

"I wonder how those WillowClan slinks can get around here," said Juniperwhisker, panting.

"Shhhh, we're still on their land!" Ambershine hissed, panicked. "Wait until we get back to camp!"

"We'll be here until Wisp and her kits fulfil the prophecy, Flintstar! This trail stuff is nonsense, especially for us. Remember that trial over stolen prey all those moons ago? The trialing warriors had to stay for three days over debate, and our warriors had to stay until they finished," Crowfoot mewed to Flintstar.

"Not here. Not now. This can wait for camp, Crowfoot." Flintstar spoke with crumbling authority- he was obviously anxious to get back to camp. But no, they had to climb the entire mountain from the lowest point of the valley to get to IceClan territory.

Cloverstem was almost holding herself together. Although Goldenfeather, Ambershine and Acornfur had all tried to approach her, she refused conversation and food. She disappeared for long periods of time in the recent moon, and to an outsider it would seem like she was going to visit Sparrowtail, but Redclaw and Flamewhisker had been assigned to track all of her movements. She had not gone farther than the South border of the mountain, where she would spend long periods of time just gazing past the barren cliffs down to the unclaimed forests below.

Acornfur walked silently, careful not to tread over the muddy, sodden patches of land beneath her feet. Her cracked, hard paw pads had the strangest sensation buzzing through them as she trod on the wet ground- like a slick buzzing.

"Do you think anyone at camp has some prey for us once we get back?" Ambershine strode to her sister's side. "I wonder how it's going back in the barn… do you think LightningClan left yet? Blossomstar seemed pretty keen to Flintstar's idea…"

Crick. Someone was walking behind them.

"Who's there?" Flintstar growled into the night.

"Flintstar. We left, too." It was Blossomstar who spoke now. "I agree with you- we need to stop this 'trial' nonsense. Meet here at the barn next quarter moon?" Flintstar stared at the she-cat.

"Alright. No WillowClan or PineClan?"

"We don't need them, do we?"

"Where will we meet, then? We need permission from WillowClan, I think."

"The barn's fair game for anyone, and… it's WillowClan."

"Alright. Next quarter moon, Flintstar."

"I won't forget."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 31

Ambershine crept slowly between the rocks. The sun beat brightly down to the pearly snow, a slight wind ruffling her long ginger fur. Her sharp pale green eyes caught movement against the snow. This was in no way an IceClan cat. A pretty cream-colored tabby was stalking a pika unsuccessfully. Ambershine looked left. Flowerhop was motioning to her desperately with the rest of the patrol to attack. Ambershine nodded. The cats charged, past the PineClan marks advancing on the she-cat below. Ambershine hit her first. The she-cat looked up, her green eyes menacing. Ambershine outstretched her long, thick claws as long as they could go as she leaped, landing paw first on the she-cat's flank. The PineClan warrior screeched in surprise as Driftcloud and Ryeclaw leaped onto her, easily pinning her down to the bright white snow.

"What are you doing on IceClan land?" Hissed Ryeclaw cruelly, his voice laced with anger.

"This is PineClan land! This grove belongs to Ashstar!" She screeched. "And I'll defend it with my life!"

Ryeclaw jabbed the she-cat with an outstretched claw. "Well then it seems like that's what you're going to be sacrificing, snake!" He jarred, the claw digging deeper into the cream tabby's flesh, blood seeping out. She gave a long yowl and struggled out of Ryeclaw's grasp. Ryeclaw's green eyes were clouded with thought. _Be loyal to the warrior code, or to my clan?_ Ryeclaw stumbled back, letting the she-cat to get to her paws.

"Coward!" Her teeth pulled back into a vicious grin.

"I-I could never kill a cat." The cream she-cat leaped at him, and he narrowly avoided a blow to his head.

Ambershine joined Nettlepath and Ryeclaw, and they pushed the she-cat back into her territory. The earthy, strong scent of pine wafted into her nose.

"Flowerhop, drive this _snake,_ " She spat, "Out of our territory, and Ryeclaw and Driftcloud, follow me." Ambershine parted her jaws, the scent was growing stronger. Her claws scuffed against the rock beneath the crisp, new snow. Stretching her legs farther, picking up her paws faster, she bolted forwards, following the scent trail until she stood a tail-length away from Ashstar himself and two warriors. One was a grey and black she-cat that Ambershine recognized as Quailflower of PineClan. Out of the shadows came two more warriors. Berryfrost of PineClan and a black tom with an unusual white streak and olive eyes, effectively flanking the seductively beautiful leader. Ashstar's amber eyes rested on the patrol.

"Trespassing," she mewed. "Is punishable with imprisonment or any other punishment deemed appropriate by the victimized Clan." She paused, surveying the patrol. "And I do belive this is AshClan land!"

"AshClan? You have so much disrespect for your founder that you renamed PineClan after yourself? And you developed a new code? Isn't Wisp's code and the Warrior Code enough?" Driftcloud mewed.

"Take them," the she-cat mewed softly. From the shadows, seven PineClan warriors emerged. They surrounded the weak IceClan patrol, and headed into the forest. Ambershine felt something hard hitting her head and the world spun out of perspective.

Chapter 32

Ambershine blinked slowly, the sun slowly shining into view. She saw sights she had never seen before- tall pine trees and a dusty clearing. Cats plodded around casually. The clearing was lined with dens- many of them- made around bushes and undergrowth, and a large fresh-kill pile consisting mostly of squirrels, mice, voles, and a few songbirds. This is not IceClan, she thought really. Dusty pine-smell clouded her. Scrambling to her feet, Ambershine slowly rose to her paws and looked around. She immediately felt her head grow sore so she sat back down. All of the members of that fateful patrol were either sitting up or sleeping, some with large bruises between their ears.

A silvery wisp caught Ambershine's eye. She watched a scene unfold. A beautiful silver tabby was standing in the clearing, her eyes resting upon two small cats. A small ginger apprentice tom and another brown apprentice walked low to the ground as they approached the she-cat. They averted their gaze as the silver she-cat spoke, "The news, Nutpaw? Fawnpaw?"

The brown she-cat spoke first. "LightningClan has received word of the IceClan advance. They will be telling WillowClan soon as well as consulting the ancestors," The apprentice sniffed. Ashstar wrapped her tail around the quivering apprentice

"Be calm, Fawnpaw, for you have done no wrong. The wrong was done by our possibly-existing founder and his mother." Fawnpaw slowly sighed in relief, lowering her shoulders. "But I must know- was LightningClan sounding… ready to launch an attack? Were they warning of a siege?"

"No… uh- no, General. They just seemed… alarmed." Ashstar looked to the sky.

"Then we must make advances first. Our IceClan... " She hesitated for words as she turned to the cats flanking her. "Ambassadors. Any news from them?"

"The prisoners!" Hissed the ginger apprentice.

"Oh! Oh, yes, I'm assuming they've woken up now. We must be more cautious in our language," She cooed softly and turned to the guard again. "News?" She barked.

"Nothing much. Accepted into the Clan. Besides that, she's not in the position to be getting much information at the moment. Unlike… our…" He paused, looking to Ambershine and then whispering something to the cats.

"Yes, yes," said Ashstar. "Our other… ambassador… is giving us very good advice and is planning his first… let me say… his first… his first _business affair._ " She turned to the other flanking cat. "Riversong. Riversong on a status report for the… _bait._ " The cat soon returned with a flustered-looking tabby.

"We've sent patrols to the lower reaches of the valley to find more bushes. We have one in our territory but it's too young to withstand plucking or digging up. The expeditions have brought back several roots and leaves, which are to be dried and mixed with the bait, and the berries, which are to be dried, mashed, and combined with some liquid to make the bait sweeter. A nice-sized squirrel stuffed with crumbled roots and leaves, along with berry mush, should kill an adult cat nicely. Only problem is that it may cause confusion, hallucinations, or loss of balance before death, so we need to really load it up so that they can't get the medicine cat."

Ambershine could not believe what she was hearing.

Chapter 33

Ryeclaw opened his eyes. A small den, filled with the scent of death. A dark brown warrior with bright blue eyes was watching him.

"Uh… hi?" Ryeclaw asked, his head spinning.

"Hi, Ryetail." The tom meowed.

"It's Ryeclaw." Flowerhop corrected. The warrior shrugged.

"My name is Splashfur and I am guarding you today. Riversong told me you might be a little bit dizzy, so you should not move too much. Wow, that's a big bruise." The young tom sniffed at Ryeclaw's leg, and indeed, there was a huge, purple blob covering most of Ryeclaw's leg.

Ashstar stalked up to the den, her eyes resting on Splashfur, gently. Her lips formed a small smile as she whispered something in his ear. Splashfur's eyes grew wide, and he went to the fresh-kill pile, choosing a plump squirrel from the pile. Ashstar nodded and then turned to the patrol.

"Hi there, IceClan cats. Welcome to AshClan." Ryeclaw just nodded, too tired and confused to comprehend the words that she uttered. "Come with me." The slender, silver she-cat, beckoned Ryeclaw, and something in him, made him follow. She walked through the trees, stopping at a large pine tree, with little bark left on it's trunk.

"Ryeclaw, you are a very lucky cat." Ashstar mewed.

"Huh?"

"You have a chance. To save your sisters, and your Clan."

"Really?" Ryeclaw's ears pricked.

"You must do one small thing. Tell me about Flintstar. Is he planning an attack?" Ashstar meowed.

"Not unless you guys move the border up-" Ryeclaw was cut off by Flowerhop, who came bounding towards him.

"Don't tell them anything!" She yowled, her eyes round with fear.

"I have enough information." Ashstar smirked, and stalked off.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 34

Cloverstem ran. Her paws barely grazed the snow-covered stone as she ran. A cold breeze ruffled her long, silky fur. The stone gave way to soft pine needles strewn over lush, green grass. The sweet smell of pine sap wafted into her nose. Approaching the south border, she paused. Staring into the dense forest, she purred. _Why am I drawn to the forest?_ She thought.

Looking down at her round belly, Cloverstem thought of Sparrowtail. Love and hatred mingled every time she thought of him. Staring into the forest was a regular activity now for Cloverstem. Grief is what made her crazy, everyone always said. And maybe it was true.

Suddenly a surge of pain swept across her.

"Oh no. This isn't good." She spoke aloud to herself. _My kits are coming._ Glancing back up the hill towards IceClan camp, she shook her head. _I cannot make it that far._

"HELP! My kits are coming now!" Cloverstem waited for a response, but when none was heard, she sighed. _I've watched Goldfeather and Yarrowspring before, I can do this._ Quickly she gathered a pile of pine needles for a nest. Shaping into a very large circle, she sat on it. _Must keep them warm._ Another surge of pain caused her to stumble to the ground, but that didn't matter now. Snapping off a stick and placing it in between her teeth, she groaned. Lying down in the nest, she winced as she felt a kit coming. The pain eased and she looked down at one kit. He was a brown and black tabby tom with smooth dark blue eyes.

"Hawthorn," Cloverstem meowed as her eye closed.

Chapter 35

Acornfur walked slowly up the rocks, a small marmot dangling from her jaws. Snow whipped around, tickling her whiskers as she entered the camp. Sighting Aspenclaw, she bounded over to the ginger-and-white tom after dropping the marmot in the prey-hole.

"How's it going?" He mewed casually as Acornfur brushed his pelt.

"Good. I've been hunting. You?"

"Border patrol," he growled.

"What… what about that patrol Flintstar sent out in the morning?" With the chaos of Cloverstem's new kit, Acornfur had forgotten about the patrol.

Aspenclaw looked the pretty she-cat in her pale eyes. "They haven't returned." Acornfur's eyes grew wide and teary.

"What? Where are they?"  
"We don't know. Juniperwhisker and Muddypaw went to look and they've not come back," Aspenclaw mewed sadly. As if on cue, Juniperwhisker burst into camp, his small brown apprentice quivering of cold behind him. Juniperwhisker shuddered as he started to screech in pain. He collapsed on the ground as his knee joint buckled. Goldenfeather rushed over to the yowling warrior, her eyes wide with terror.

"Get Yarrowspring and some herbs!" She screeched. The brown tabby tom bounded out of the medicine cave, yarrow in his jaws as the early mountain sun peeked through the stormy cloud. The older tom shoved several bright green leaves down the blue tom's throat.

"Swallow!" He hissed urgently into the tom's face. "Swallow them!" Yarrowspring shoved them deeper into his throat, but to no avail. Goldfeather shoved up with some snow. Seeing this. Yarrowspring retrieved the herbs from Juniperwhisker's throat and chewed them with a mouthful of snow to spit back in his mouth. But as the herb mash touched the tom's lips, the pain seemed to float away. His eyes rolled back, revealing intensely dilated pupils against his empty eyes and his muscles relaxed as his head flopped back to the ground and he rasped one last breath.

"There's nothing we can do now," whispered Goldenfeather softly to her mentor, who was still trying to force herbs down Juniperwhisker's throat. Yarrowspring looked up to his pretty young apprentice, a sorrowful look in his face.

Squirrelfeather bounded over from the other side of camp. "Juniperwhisker!" She screeched, burying her muzzle into the fallen warrior's long blue pelt. "Yarrowspring, what happened?" She howled with agony.

"He was probably poisoned," choked out Goldfeather sadly and quietly.

"Whoever did it, I'm going to rip their throat out," she hissed under a thick coat of grief. Muddypaw buried his head into his mentor's pelt, tears welling at his vibrant amber eyes.

"We stopped to eat after we had caught a lot of prey. Most of it is in the storage-hole near the Claw River. He said he felt queasy after eating his hare and he started to say he was in pain, and his pupils started to dilate, and-" The small apprentice just looked down at the ground.

"We will have a vigil for him tonight," sighed Flintstar "PineClan moved the border and one of our best warrior is dead…" Flintstar kept talking, but thoughts drowned it out. Thoughts in Acornfur's head were vocal. One gave her the idea to look at Muddypaw. Ryeclaw's words echoes in Acornfur's head… _I don't like the look of this Mud character,_ her brother had whispered. _He smells of pine sap and dusty old pine needles. PineClan scent. He's not going to be good in the winter- his pelt is short and stiff. He has big paws- that's a good thing for snow but his claws are too sharp and tender. They can't toughen up. He'll complain when his paws get sore and hurt in the snow when it scrapes his paws. He'll just be another weak mouth to feed. He'll take food from Nettlepath and my kits!_ There was something about this- something to coincidental; to much of a coincidence. To much of a chance of this Muddypaw fellow… and the warriors missing from PineClan at the last battle… That this apprentice could have stopped for prey and the prey was so sick… and no one noticed… that is would kill Juniperwhisker that fast… there was no way.

Acornfur had two priorities. The first was to rescue her littermates from whatever dilemma they were in. The second was to be wary of Muddypaw; the cat with too many coincidences.

Chapter 36

Ryeclaw sat down in the dusty clearing. _My kits. They will be apprenticed in three moons. I can't miss my kits apprentice ceremony!_

"Vinespot, Riversong, Quailflower, Riversong, Ferntail, Nutpaw, and Fawnpaw!" Ashstar called. "Come to my den." The cats trotted into the hollowed out pine tree. Ryeclaw slipped around to the back of the leader's den, finding a small hole in the trunk where he could watch.

Ashstar smiled.

"My little messengers. How are our ambassadors doing?" She asked, her eyes filled with excitement.

Nutpaw gulped, "We met with Loudstream, Muddypaw and Poolpaw. But Palefern wasn't at the meeting place."

Ashstar hissed, but seeing the look on Nutpaw's face, she smiled. "It is not your fault, Nutpaw. It is Palefern's. Next time you see her, take her to me. I will deal with her then." Her claws unsheathed with malice. "How about Loudstream and Mudtail?"

"Good. Apprenticed to Flightspirit and Juniperwhisker. They told them they were rogues named Loud and Muddy and now they are getting IceClan training, as apprentices." Fawnpaw purred.

"And Poolpaw?"

"WillowClan welcomed her, and she says she is ready to deploy bait. They named her Bluepaw." Nutpaw replied.

Ashstar nodded and then turned to Vinespot. "How will we give Poolpaw and Loudstream the bait?"

"Ahh. I want one of the IceClan prisoners to go into IceClan and drop the hare behind a bush, near our territory. For WillowClan, I need you two," Vinespot flicked his tail towards Fawnpaw and Nutpaw, to roll in bear dung, and then go into WillowClan. It's better apprentices get caught than warriors." Fawnpaw scowled and Vinespot knocked her over, placing a paw on her chest.

"You should be proud to help General Ashstar." He hissed, releasing her. She nodded quickly and pressed against her sister.

Ashstar spun towards Ferntail and Quailflower. They had recently been assigned the job of Battle Strategy Advisors, a new position Ashstar created. "Advisors, when can we attack?" Quailflower showed her a wooden plank with scratches in it.

"We need to kill five of IceClan's warriors, and one of their medicine cats, three of WillowClan's warriors, and five of LightningClan. But, with Palefern not responding, we need another ambassador there."

"How about Meadowpaw? She isn't talented enough to become a valuable warrior, and she is rather sly." Ferntail suggested.

"All right. Send her to me. I will give her a erm... ," Ashstar glanced at Nutpaw and Fawnpaw, "small injury. She is so small they will think she is a kit, and they must help a wounded kit." Ferntail nodded curtly and headed out of the den, Quailflower at her heels. "Fawnpaw and Nutpaw, fetch us some prey," Ashstar barked.

"Vinespot, hunt for some bait, if you know what I mean." Ashstar mewed, her amber eyes gleaming. He ducked out of the den, and headed into the snow covered trees. Fawnpaw and Nutpaw returned, empty pawed.

"There isn't any fresh kill." Nutpaw mewed, her eyes downcast.

"Then hunt some! That's an order," Ashstar snapped, and the apprentices scampered off.

Turning to Riversong, she smiled. "How is the bait?"

"I have made four, and Toadstreak has been a big help." He meowed.

"Very well, keep making them. We need," She thought for a moment, " Fourteen of them."

"Yes, General." He mewed, and left the den.

Ryeclaw, horrified and intrigued, slipped off to the prisoners den, where Ambershine, Flowerhop and Driftcloud were sleeping.

"You won't believe what I just saw!" He mewed quickly, glancing behind him to check if anyone was listening in.

"What is it?" Ambershine sat up, seeing the desperation in his mew.

"For some reason, everyone calls Ashstar General and Muddypaw and Loudpaw are spies from PineClan, and they have spies in LightningClan and one in WillowClan too. They are planning to use 'bait', whatever that is, to kill cats from all the clans, so they can take over all of the clans and force them out and what do we do?!" Ryeclaw whispered quickly.

"Bait is poison stuffed fresh-kill," Ambershine mewed. Ryeclaw shut his eyes tightly and pressed against his sister.

"What do we do?" He shuddered.

"I don't know." She mewed sorrowfully.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 38

Ambershine's pale green eyes glinted in the early morning sun. The air was still and sweet, the smell of pine sap wafting into the prisoners den. It had been a clear night, and the four cats slept well. The bedding was strewn across the den, and clumps stuck to Ambershine's light ginger fur. Ryeclaw and Driftcloud were stretching and Flowerhop was already eating a shrew outside the den.

"I've thought about it, and I know what we have to do." Driftcloud whispered

"Escape." Ambershine replied

"Yes," She nodded and beckoned the others.

"Look here." Driftcloud drew two circles in the dust, "This is us. This is IceClan camp. Our only chance of escape is through this hole in the PineClan barrier, but that's risky because of our guard friends," she mewed, glancing at Ferntail who socialized with Quailflower outside of the prisoners den. "Or we could go out the dirtplace tunnel. And, we can't all go at once, or it will be suspicious." The cats nodded. "So, Ambershine and Flowerhop will head to the dirt place tunnel, stagger your timing, and me and Ryeclaw will head out the barrier gap when Ferntail grabs fresh-kill. She will get fresh-kill when the hunting patrol, which Ashstar sends out at sun-high returns. It will be sunset when they return. I will give you guys a signal," She scuffed her paws against the stone twice, "to go out the dirtplace tunnel."

"Where will we meet you, once we escape camp?" Flowerhop asked

"Walk a bit and then turn left and walk that way a little. Wait for us there." Driftcloud mewed.

Ryeclaw's gaze was clouded with anxiety, but he nodded anyways. Driftcloud wasn't fast, but she was smart, and she would get them out of this horrible camp.

"What do we do now?" Flowerhop asked, her confidence unusually low.

"The only thing we can do," Ambershine grinned, "Explore!"

Driftcloud yawned. "You do that. I'm going to sleep."

"All right. What are we waiting for?" Ryeclaw meowed.

Ambershine led the way into the camp. Flowerhop and Ryeclaw followed her closely. The guard barely twitched a whisker as they headed into camp. Carefully, Ambershine took note of all that was going on. Ashstar stood on HighRock, her eyes searching through the cats that gathered at the base of the black stone. She gave out orders smoothly, and the cats obeyed. Vinespot flew around camp, keeping cats from dawdling, checking on the injured and slipping in the medicine cat den. Ambershine couldn't help but admire and envy him. _That will be me someday._

"Wow. This camp is huge," Ryeclaw exclaimed, awe-struck.

Flowerhop kept smiling at a black and white tom, Toadstreak. Ambershine simply shook her head. _Crazy she-cats. Always mooning over one or another tom._ _I will not let love get in the way of me becoming an asset to IceClan._

"PRISONERS! Get back to the prisoner's den. I need a better guard for you four," Quailflower yowled, and they hurried back into the den.

"Wake up!" Ryeclaw quietly mewed, nudging the ginger warrior. Ambershine lept to her feet.

"Is it time?" Ambershine asked as she stretched.

"Almost." Ryeclaw flicked his tail towards the setting sun.

"Flowerhop! Driftcloud! Time to wake up." Ryeclaw softly mewed in their ears, glancing back cautiously at Flamespeckle, who sat obediently at the front of the den.

Swirls of red, orange and yellow rippled above the trees. The wind didn't rush over camp like it did in IceClan. _There are too many trees to do that, I suppose._ Ryeclaw thought. Once all of the cats were awake, Driftcloud reviewed the plan over and over again as they waited for the hunting patrol to return. Ryeclaw quickly groomed his fur, and then approached Flamespeckle.

"Err. Hi, Flamespeckle." Ryeclaw meowed nervously. "We were wondering if we could get some fresh-kill now…"

"I suppose I could fetch you a vole or two. But, if you try to leave while I'm gone, I will tear your ears off. Understand?" He growled.

"Yes," Ryeclaw politely dipped his head as Flamespeckle headed to the fresh-kill pile. The prisoners hadn't eaten for a couple days now. Ambershine's ribs were showing, for she gave most of her food to the others, claiming she wasn't hungry. Flamespeckle appeared once more, two mice dangling from his claws.

"Thank you." Ryeclaw mewed, taking the mice to the back of the den. Quickly, the cats scarfed down the mice. Just as they finished the small meal, a yowl of excitement was heard.

"We got a load of starlings!" Ivyfang called as she emerged from the barrier. Flamespeckle purred and trotted towards his mate to share one of the plump birds.

"Let's go!" Driftcloud ordered. "Ambershine, you first. Flowerhop you will be right behind her. Me and Ryeclaw will see you there. If you can't find us, don't wait. Go as quickly as you can back to camp." Nodding, Ambershine maneuvered through the cats to get to the dirtplace tunnel. She ducked through, darting behind the cats to the dirtplace tunnels- and out of the camp.

Chapter 38

Acornfur padded slowly over the territory. Her life had reached an all-time low. Two of her siblings were gone, probably being closely guarded in PineClan's camp. Her remaining sister was reluctantly nesting her only kit- a beautiful little tom with stunning dark brown tabby markings. Just like the father, she thought. But that kit would have to go to LightningClan in a few sunrises time, to be named by the queen Morningflower and her mate Greeneyes. Cloverstem would sit in the far corner of the nursery cave, nursing her kit, as Ryeclaw's kits- soon to be apprenticed- would bumble outside all day in the snow as their mother hunted and looked after them.

Acornfur now walked slowly to the Lookout Rock as her pale green eyes rested upon the land below. There was so much more than just the Clans, she thought. More than just the south side- there were more mountains past the Clan territories. Were there more Clans further beyond? Wisp was the one who spread the legacy from the original Clans, so most thought that the Mountain Clans and the Original Clans were the only Clans- but did the original Clans even still exist? It had been forever since the great battle that Wisp tried to stop between her kit's forces. Who knew, really.

As a young apprentice, Acornfur had tried to predict her littermates destinies. She thought that Ambershine might have been a deputy or a leader, but that was all that she could really think about. What was to become of her? Could she have kits with Aspenclaw, who was becoming increasingly close to her? She had once thought of Muddypaw as relatively attractive; he had broad, muscular shoulders and handsome yellow eyes. The short-haired tom was about her age, too, even if he was still in training. But now Acornfur had her suspicions about that cat- how he was the only one present when Juniperwhisker died, and where he came from. Somehow, Acornfur did not buy the story of the coyote attack. Yes, coyotes were a big problem for the lower Clans (they never ventured above the treeline), but Acornfur could not fathom that a queen strong enough to care for kits that were now apprentice-sized (as Muddypaw had told them) could not fend off a coyote and get separated in the process, never to be found again.

Acornfur sighed and turned around. She new that she probably couldn't change anything that big- she would try to live a happy life with a mate and have some kits to watch grow up in the process. She turned around and headed back to camp. Padding slowly as the overcast light changed through to midday, she caught a scent. It was full of pine and dust like Muddypaw's scent once was, but this was not Muddypaw. It was a she-cat by the scent of it. Acornfur lowered her nose to the ground and began following the scent- that was easy on a windless, dry day like this one.

A tortoiseshell pelt appeared on the horizon, and it was not Fernfang, the only tortoiseshell cat in the Clan. Acornfur quickened her pace into a trot, careful to stay downwind. The cat was going right toward the camp at a steady lope. Acornfur felt the urge to chase after it, but she knew full well that she was in no position to catch it. The cat entered the camp. Acornfur broke into a run.

A yowl sounded from dead ahead.

Chapter 39

"STREAM!" Screeched Muddypaw. Cloverstem poked her head out, leaving her precious kit alone on the warm bedding for a second. A tortoiseshell she-cat bounded into camp. This was not Fernfang. Acornfur (Cloverstem sighed seeing her sister) followed behind.

" _Who are you and what are you doing?_ " Yowled Acornfur at the she-cat. She whipped around to see Acornfur. Flintstar emerged from his den, his amber-yellow gaze upon this newcomer.

"You are trespassing on IceClan land, more specifically, our camp. What the heck." Flinstar phased his last comment not as much as a question, but as… just a phrase. The she-cat's eyes widened.

"I- I- um, well- I- I was tracking my brother's scent after the coyote attack that killed our mother and separated us and I picked him up here, and… I, well, I found him!" This newcomer seemed thrilled. Muddypaw brushed the tortoiseshell's short coat.

"This is Stream! She's my sister!" Muddypaw turned to her. "I thought you were dead! I thought that I would never see you again! I- I- uh,"

"Stream? Well, okay then. What do you want to do now that you have found Muddypaw?" The she-cat looked up in confusion.

Muddypaw spoke to clarify. "Stream, I joined IceClan when I was looking for a traveling partner. I have a Clan name now- Muddypaw. I got apprenticed to Juniperwhisker!" He mewed proudly. But then his eyes became clouded with sadness. "But he died. He's dead. We were on a patrol and we ate some prey and then he got sick, and… Redclaw and Squirrelfeather are sharing my training, but…" He looked to Redclaw and Squirrelfeather. "No offense, but it's not really the same." Muddypaw looked down.

"IceClan is the strongest Clan of the mountains but a time of war is upon us. PineClan, the Clan in the pines beneath us, moved their territory boundary a quarter moon ago. We sent a patrol with some of your best warriors and they have not come back- presumably taken prisoner. As you heard, when Muddypaw and Juniperwhisker went looking for the patrol only to find nothing and to hunt, Juniperwhisker probably ate some poisoned prey. He died soon after he got back to camp." Flinstar spoke firmly to this outsider who foolishly bumbled to the IceClan camp. "If you wish to join your brother in training, you may." Gasps of shock and surprise circled around the camp but no one objected. Cloverstem rolled her eyes.

"I… um… I am honored by that offer! I- if you are okay with it, then I want to follow the same path of my brother," Stream mewed tentatively. Flintstar looked around to the Clan, surveying their expressions. No one dared to object, for they would need as many paws as possible when the time came to attack PineClan, which the senior warriors were attempting to plan without the help of Driftcloud.

"Stream, if everyone agrees, then by the powers of Wisp and StarClan, then I declare you a member of IceClan. From this day forward, you will be known as Streampaw. He surveyed his warriors standing beneath him slightly judgmentally. "Roseclaw. I trust you to pass on your logic and cool head to Streampaw." Roseclaw stepped forwards to touch Streampaw's nose. _STREAMPAW! STREAMPAW! STREAMPAW!_ The Clan cheered exuberantly. Cloverstem sighed and went back to her single kit whom she had secretly named against Flintstar's agreement to LightningClan. _Hawthorn_ , she whispered to the kit as they were alone in the nursery cave. _This Clan has turned soft. Now we're letting in rogues without a second thought that they won't be good of us and our survival. We must keep the Clan's bloodlines clean!_ She knew that the kit wouldn't remember her. She knew that in saying this, she would have no response, for she had kitted only three sunrises ago. His eyes were still sealed shut, his feet pink and his fur was not as long as the IceClan kits. _Your father's blood shall not make a mark on you. You are my own. Not IceClan's, not LightningClan's, not Morningflower and Greeneye's, and definitely not Sparrowtail's._ She could not convince Flintstar to let her keep this one beautiful little tom. But maybe she could still do something about it.

Acornfur's tail swished in the mountain air out of anger. What was this Clan turning to? Flintstar had just accepted a strange cat that he knew nothing of into the Clan after she bumbled into camp blindly without batting an eye. Muddypaw was enough, but two? This was getting too coincidental. For all Acornfur knew, Streampaw could be a spy from another Clan. She thought that if Muddypaw went on to become a successful warrior, ten she would relinquish her feelings of suspicion towards him. But now that there was another- someone Flintstar welcomed without any other thought- Acornfur could never be casual to these two.

Acornfur turned around and stormed out of camp, back to Lookout Rock. She had might as well hunt on the way, she thought as she passed the Claw River, frozen solid in the dead of the mountain winter. From behind, wind rushed in, racking the tundra and kicking up swirls of dusty snow from the ground. It shook Acornfur to the bone, chilling her. What had this Clan become? Half of their greatest warriors were prisoner, including the only one that could possibly devise a strategy for rescue. PineClan was a threat. Icy Peak would have lead his Clan- of big-pawed, long-furred, thick-clawed, muscular, dedicated, loyal cats- to move the boundary firmly back and launch a merciless attack to free their cats. But was there anything she could do? No, not really. She could talk to Aspenclaw. She might be able to get a hold on Flintstar to talk to him. Nettlepath, a sole friend of hers, was busy with her kits- Acornfur's own nieces. Ryeclaw might not have made it back on time to see his kits apprenticed. But what could she do about it?

Thank you all so much! Apologies for my absence- the holidays were really busy for me... don't worry, uploading regularly is part of my New Year's Resolution...

Anyways, the book is all done, and the sequel is done, but in an editing process. I am participating in NaNoWriMo (it sounds weird, but look it up!), which is how I got the sequel done, and I'm doing it again in April for the third book.

Thanks for reading! Reviews are great, but criticism is always better.

Well wishes to all readers :D


	15. Chapter 15

Flintstar emerged from his den in a quiver. He had accepted that cat too quick. But now there was no turning back. Streampaw was now an apprentice of IceClan and Flintstar had other worries. More specifically, PineClan. After the boundary moved, the two Clans had kind-of-sort-of shared that land, in fear of harm done to the prisoners. But Flintstar felt something deep inside him that told him that those cats were planning a successful escape at this very moment. Squirrelfeather was sitting outside Flintstar's den near the Highrock, looking gloomy. Flintstar remembered how she and Juniperwhisker had sat there, sharing tounges. They were too old to have kits, but they could have retired together, sharing a happy life in the elder's den. But now that would never happen. Squirrelfeather had already talked to Flintstar about retiring to the elder's den. But she said that she would want to participate in a final battle with PineClan, and they were going to get the prisoners back before she retired. Flintstar was thinking about candidates for deputy, listing the cats of his Clan off slowly. Redclaw's too quick to fight, he thought. Juniperwhisker was… dead. Driftcloud was a good candidate, except she might not be able to handle it. Flamewhisker was also quick to fight. Frostflower didn't have an apprentice. Hopfur and Leapfur both didn't have an apprentice. Squirrelfeather was an option, but Flintstar thought that maybe a younger cat would be a welcome change. But maybe he could give a younger cat one of Ryeclaw's kits? After all, Treeclaw and Cherrytail were both dead. Ambershine? Yes, he thought. I shall apprentice one of Ryeclaw's kits to her and see how she turned out. And maybe Acornfur, too. She was loyal and dedicated. Ambershine, though. She really had leadership potential. Loyal, passionate, bubbly, motivated, skilled, patient, and young. She was a perfect cat. Perhaps… Flintstar would give Ambershine and Acornfur the two kits whom their future mentors died. They would probably be good mentors to the kits, and he would be able to assess their competence as possible deputies. In the meantime, Squirrelfeather would remain deputy for a while.

Chapter 41

Streampaw smiled warmly at Flightspirit. The pretty tortoiseshell she-cat had just started life in IceClan, but she had gotten to know everyone. She and her temporary mentor, (while Roseclaw was sick), Flightspirit headed down into the valley to hunt. Streampaw was growing into a decent hunter, but she was much better at hunting in the lowlands, by PineClan's territory.

 _If that's what she's good at, why fight against it,_ she thought, as Streampaw emerged with a plump squirrel.

"Good work." She praised. "Let's head back to camp before sunset." The two she-cats trotted into camp.

"You should eat, Flightspirit. You haven't had anything all day!" Streampaw pushed the squirrel towards her as they got back to camp. Flightspirit greedily munched down on the juicy squirrel. "Thanks." She mumbled through a mouthful of meat.

Streampaw trotted off to meet up with Muddypaw and Eaglepaw, but a few minutes later, a moan was heard from the warriors den.

"What's that?" Eaglepaw asked.

"Probably nothing." Streampaw meowed.

"Yeah, maybe Roseclaw's cold has gotten worse."

"We should go check it out, anyways. Just in case." Eaglepaw meowed, his eyes wide with concern.

"All right." Muddypaw agreed. Ducking inside the warrior's den, they saw Flightspirit laying on her side.

"YARROWSPRING! GOLDFEATHER! NO!" Eaglepaw moaned, as she put a paw on Flightspirit's chest. The heartbeat had stopped.

"She's dead." Yarrowspring meowed.

"Oh no. It's all my fault. Flightspirit complained about a stomach ache when we went out to hunt. I should've told someone." Streampaw sobbed.

The clan gathered around Flightspirit's motionless body, sharing tongues one last time.

"Noooo!" Streampaw wailed, looking down at the skinny white she-cat in despair.

Chapter 42

Cherrytail and Treeclaw died. The tortoiseshell she-cat was found dead in her nest when she was awoken. Treeclaw, well, Yarrowspring tried to save him. He ate a mouse, and then he was… dead

"Poison exposure." Yarrowspring had mewed, shaking his head. Three cats had died in one moon all of poisoning, according to Yarrowspring. All of the deaths were nearly identical- hallucinations, loss of balance, and all of the cats were very confused before their deaths. The bodies were inspected by Yarrowspring before their burial, and were revealed all to have their pupils as wide as a full moon, but Yarrowspring and Goldfeather were yet to identify the cause. The gathering at full moon was tonight, and Acornfur was impatient. There were two attempts to recover the prisoners, but the patrols were stopped and if they tried to continue forwards, PineClan would've attacked. Two kits missing, and one mad with grief, Frostflower only had one kit left. Frostflower and Acornfur were spending a lot of time together recently. It was a welcome break, away from the loneliness of camp without Ryeclaw and Ambershine, and the confusion of what Aspenclaw wanted in their relationship.

"Squirrelfeather, Flamespeckle, Roseclaw, Streamwing, Muddypaw, Streampaw, Hopfur, Leapfur, Squirrelwhisker, Heronsky, Bramblecloud Brindlestem, Redclaw, Briarstep, Mothpelt, Brookfur and… Acornfur." Flintstar announced early that morning. _This is going to be a big gathering._ Flintstar was going to demand the prisoners back from PineClan. Honeykit, Poppykit and Breezekit are all shaping up quite nicely. Honeykit was the sweetest, kindest she-kit Acornfur ever met. Poppykit reminded Acornfur of Ambershine, determined and brave. And Breezekit was beautiful. They would all bumble around the camp, playing in the snow. But now was no time for thinking about them- it was nearly evening. The gathering would be approaching soon. Acornfur burst out of camp, ready to release some pent-up energy. She ran laps around the cold winter rocks at top speed. Cheers and hoots erupted from the clearing, and Acornfur bolted to see what was happening.

"Driftcloud, Ryeclaw, Flowerhop, Ambershine! They're back!" Frosflower's mew was distinct amidst the yowls. Acornfur bolted over, catching sight of her sister's light ginger pelt through the greys and whites of the other cats.

"AMBERSHINE!" She yelled, dashing over to rub pelts with her sister.

"Acornfur! I'm so glad to see you." Ambershine replied her eyes filled with joy. Ryeclaw was trying to get through the crowds to get to Nettlepath and his kits,

but Acornfur lept on top of him.

"You've been gone for so long! After you see your kits, come straight to

me, I want to hear all about your time in PineClan." She grinned at him.

"I will. I promise." Ryeclaw mewed, but he was distracted. He barreled through the other cats to the nursery. Meanwhile, Driftcloud and Flowerhop went to the leader's den to tell Flintstar what they learned about PineClan and their spies.

"Honeykit, Breezekit, come on!" Poppykit whined. "Dad's home!" At this, Honeykit and Breezekit lept to their feet. Nettlepath shared tongues with Ryeclaw while their kits danced around them.

"Got your tail!" Breezekit squealed.

"Kits, why don't you go tell the elders that the patrol is back?"

"Okay!" They chorused.

Ryeclaw closed his eyes. "It was… shocking. Driftcloud and Flowerhop are already telling Flintstar about it. You won't believe what PineClan is doing. They're poisoning our cats. Has anyone already died?" He meowed grimly.

"Four cats. Flightspirit, Juniperwhisker, Treeclaw and Cherrytail." She said, holding back tears.

"Oh, Ryeclaw… I'm so glad you're okay." Nettlepath mewed, wrapping his tail around his mate.

Chapter 42

Flinstar was purring at his plan. The cats that he was leading to the gathering were still coming, but so were some of the prisoners. He would demand the prisoners back, but when Ashstar would refuse he would signal for the escaped cats to reveal themselves. Now that Driftcloud was back, they could plan an outright invasion of the PineClan camp. They had shaken IceClan to their core, now they would be the ones to get revenge. He lead the cats down the mountainside, their heads high and chests fluffed up. Acornfur's face held a rare smirk as she bounded down the cliffs, following her leader.

Ashstar stood tall, her chest puffed out as she stood in the leader's spot. Her face sank when IceClan padded in, but she began the gathering as usual. WillowClan had faced the threat of a moose wandering on their territory, but the moose died of starvation, giving the small willow cats a feast. As soon as Ashstar was about to start, Flintstar shot her a proud, stopping gaze.

"Ashstar, before I say something for a serious matter at hand, I would like to say to Blossomstar that Cloverstem had one kit- a tom she has not yet named. We were not able to get a messenger down… because… of threats from Ashstar and her 'newly renamed' AshClan." Plumstar and Blossomstar gasped. "You see, three-quarters of a moon ago, PineClan moved their border into our territory- beyond the grove they were attempting to claim those few moons ago. We sent a patrol and they were taken prisoner. We were unable to get them back."

Ashstar hissed at Flintstar. "Flintstar, your Clan is out of control and we hope this will serve as a reminder that AshClan will soon rule the forest," She spat. Blossomstar and Plumstar and their warriors gasped.

"I would demand them back, but…" He narrowed his eyes at the pretty she-cat.

"What?" She hissed suspiciously. Flintstar flicked his tail. Ambershine, Ryeclaw, Driftcloud, and Flowerhop emerged. Ashstar's eyes widened to the size of the moon and the silently gasped.

"You really need a better guard, Ashstar." Purred Driftcloud as she rolled her eyes.

"We- uh, we will be leaving now!" Mewed Ashstar with urgency. "AshClan, out!" She hopped down to her warriors and bounded out.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 43

"Cats of IceClan!" Flintstar yowled. "All cats gather here beneath HighRock." All cats, even the kits, the elders, and the queens circled around HighRock. "I have called all of you here today to share some news." He lashed his tail back and forth with menace. "You already know how PineClan has been killing our cats. We will put an end to this madness. It has been revealed to us from our cats that were prior that they have been giving our warriors prey laced-" He paused to show a small squirrel stained with purple juice that Yarrowspring had brought to him- "With deadly nightshade. This was going to be Yarrowspring's dinner."

"Muddypaw, Streampaw, step forward. I should make it public that you are not rogues who went looking for traveling partners… coyote… yadda yadda yadda-" They two apprentices were trembling. "Mudtail and Loudstream of PineClan. You are now exiled from IceClan and if one of our warriors ever catches sight of you, we will show no mercy. Due to IceClan tradition, every cat gets a chance to leave a scar so that they will always remember the pain that they brought us. The cats who were close to the deceased may go first. I need some help to hold them down." Loudstream and Mudtail were pinned down, and Flightspirit' s mate, Redclaw, and their kit, Aspenclaw went first, leaving gashes down their flanks, for his mother and brother who were both poisoned. But Mudtail was quick and slinky- he wiggled out of the grasps of Squirrelfeather and Roseclaw and darted away.

"SEIZE HIM!" Screeched Hawkpaw, who was holding Loudstream down, but in doing that, he loosened his grip and the tortoiseshell slid away, chasing after Mudtail. Redclaw burst out of camp, ready to chase the cats, but to no avail. They were scaling down the cliffsides, out of IceClan territory.

Driftcloud looked down the PineClan territory. "It's time," she mewed softly, narrowing her eyes.

Flintstar looked up. "IceClan! This is it. We will be putting an end to this!" A grin slowly appeared on the cat's faces. "Yarrowspring and Goldenfeather. Is the medicine den stocked?"

Goldenfeather nodded her head. "Fully."

"Then let it be declared that on this leaf-bare day. IceClan will launch an invasion of PineClan to accomplish the following- Killing Ashstar, who has slowly been corrupting her Clan from within. We will attempt to free any other cats whom PineClan may have taken prisoner tonight." Morale in the Clan was slowly growing. "For IceClan pride!" Flintstar yowled.

"ICECLAN! ICECLAN! ICECLAN!" The Clan rallied.

"Apprentices, fight back-to back with your mentors and those who have been training alongside you. I expect my warriors to target only the cats who have been harming us directly- innocent apprentices, kits, and anyone who is not full-heartedly supporting Ashstar must be simply scared out of supporting her. We must give this broken Clan something to rebuild. I want a patrol to sneak into the camp first to give us grounds for attack- Ambershine, you will lead Hopfur, Squirrelwhisker, Frostflower, and Fernfang in. After a bit, we will send Driftcloud, Leapfur, Redclaw, Aspenclaw, Flowerhop, and Flamewhisker to attack. Hawkpaw and Eaglepaw will serve as messengers to tell us if we need to send reinforcements. Yarrowspring, I trust you to go with the patrols and treat wounded cats. We will send you Goldenfeather if it is necessary. And I will say it now-" Flintstar sighed quickly. "IceClan warriors. You have my permission to kill and torture Loudstream and Mudtail, as their death and torture will never be able to repay what suffering that they have caused us."

"ICECLAN!" The Clan chanted as Ambershine lead her patrol out of camp. Acornfur gave her a quick lick on her way out.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 44

 _So if we're allowed to torture those two, why can't I torture Sparrowtail?_ Thought Cloverstem as she watched her sister leave. She looked down at Hawthorn and realized that LightningClan would be coming to pick him up today. His eyes had opened that morning to reveal a brilliant, handsome blue. She could not give up this kit, no matter what Flintstar said.

Time flew, and in a matter of what seened like minutes, the second patrol left. The camp was relatively empty and there was no outside guard. Most cats were inside their dens, warming up and talking amongst themselves. Squirrelfeather walked away, leaving the camp empty. Cloverstem glanced around the nursery cave to Nettlepath and her kits, who were sleeping as she looked back to her one kit. Her precious, single kit. If she gave him up, then her life would be nothing. And she couldn't let that happen. She glanced around camp, and then to him again. Making an impulse decision, she picked his tiny brown body up and exited the cave. Stopping at the fresh-kill pile to grab a bite to eat, she scarfed down a pika nearly whole and picked up a plump marmot to carry along with her kit. A dead marmot and her beloved kit both hung from her jaws as Cloverstem started padding south, to the place where she was drawn to. Hearing yowls of desperate pain from PineClan territory, she thought, this is where I'm leaving. I'm not a part of this. She made her way a little quicker, past the boundary into the place she was drawn to- the South Side forest.

Chapter 45

Ambershine padded slowly but confidently through her territory, glancing back at her patrol before passing the PineClan boundary. She slunk low to the ground, her wispy paw fur whisking up pine needles and crusty snow. She was confident- in their escape, she took this path back to her home. Now, she was entering the very place that she vowed to never go back to. But this was IceClan. It was for victory. She could do it! She lead the patrol silently to the small ridge overlooking the PineClan camp, the warriors milling about.

"Eaglepaw," Ambershine whispered to the apprentice following behind her. "Get the second patrol and tell them that we're making a plan to invade." She looked back to the camp below them as Eaglepaw darted back. Inside the very den that she was held only a day ago, held new cats. Sparrowtail, Blossomstar, Greeneyes, Whisperpaw, and Bluetoe were crouched silently in the den, bearing wounds indicating a battle.

"Here's the plan. Frostflower and I will free the prisoners as soon as the reinforcements come." Ambershine flicked her tail to the rest of the warriors. "Keep yourselves hidden maybe try to get as many cats in the camp as possible." Hopfur was about to climb a tree near the entrance to the camp, but Ambershine hissed, "Hopfur! The camp guards!" The tom's eyes widened as he saw the guards swapping duties. One glanced up at him but shook her head, probably not seeing him. Hopfur sighed in relief. Almost on cue, the second patrol appeared through the trees. Ambershine and Frostflower made their way to the back of the camp- where wall of the the prisoner den was.

"Sparrowtail! Blossomstar!" Hissed Frostflower under her breath. The LightningClan cat's eyes widened in surprise.

"What's going on?" Hissed Pebbleflower softly.

"We're launching an invasion. And we're getting you out of here."

"You are both noble and have good intentions but this camp is heavily guarded. There's no way that we're getting out of here," sighed Bluetoe. "Anyways, how would you know how to get out?"

"Bluetoe, my name is Ambershine and this is my mother, Frostflower."

"Ambershine! We've heard all about you! Did one of your littermates-"

"Ryeclaw and I. Driftcloud and Flowerhop, too." She began digging at the sticks holding the den together. "This was our other option to get out. They're loose," She mewed as Frostflower started to dig, but to no avail.

"Screw it," Frostflower spat and rammed her body against the sticks. They splintered with a large crack. The prison guards whipped their heads around., seeing Ambershine and her mother working away on the sticks, but before they could say anything, their heads turned to see more thick-furred, big-boned, blunt-clawed warriors at the camp entrance. More specifically, the second patrol plus Flintstar, who was flanked by Squirrelwhisker and Driftcloud.

"It's over, Ashstar. IceClan, ATTACK!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 46

Hi, everyone! Hi! How was your day? It's FINALLY here! THE FINAL BATTLE! We've worked so hard on this bloody story- I wrote he last few thousand words in a couple hours last May in order to use it for a school project. But... I as re-reading it as I was writing he sequel, and I realized how terrible it is in comparasin to my newer writing...

*repetitive cringing*

Anyways, here it is- but there will be epilouge chapters later this weekend, so don't leave too soon.

Sorry if the format's a bit wonky... my computer's being a stubborn idiot.

THANK YOU!

Stay tuned later for some questions I have for readers... but I ramble no more. Here's the chapter you've all ben waiting for (maybe)...

Everything happened at once. With a final slam from Frostflower, the LightningClan allies broke free. "How will we ever repay you?" Sighed Pebbleflower.

"Yarrowspring is somewhere over there. Go see him and then you can go home. Your Clan must be terrified." Frostflower dipped her head modestly.

"In no way are we just abandoning you. After we are treated by your medicine cat, we are fighting with you," Blossomstar mewed before trotting off to find the medicine cat.

Looking at her daugher, Frostflower spoke gently. "I'm proud of you, my kit," she mewed as she brushed foreheads with Ambershine.

"Let's fight," Ambershine mewed, looking up at her mother. They burst into the camp through the hole, pleased to see Flintstar tackling Ashstar, their contrasting pelts tussling together, kicking up dust into the mountain morning. Ambershine spotted a short brown pelt in the midst of the fighting. It was Muddypaw- no, the traitor. Mudtail. With a powerful leap, she landed smack on top of his small form. Despite the she-cat pinning him down, the tom smirked and slashed at her exposed belly, but in trying to be sneaky, Ambershine caught the slashing paw in her wide jaws, sending a loud cry of pain into the air. He rolled just out of Ambershine's grasp, but his freedom was short-lived as he was immediately tackled to the ground by Squirrelfeather. The ginger she-cat slashed at his back, leaving deep claw marks. Tufts of brown fur went flying into her eyes, her blunt claws were dripping with sticky blood, and Mudtail was screeching an ear-splitting cry, but Squirrelfeather didn't care, her eyes bright with rage and vengeance for Juniperwhisker. But before Ambershine could watch any longer, she felt claws on her back. Whipping her head around, she saw a plump tortoiseshell face staring back at her. Loudstream! Kicking her back foot up, Ambershine threw her attacker off, yowling. Loudstream landed on Fawnpaw's unsuspecting back and the innocent apprentice scurried away.

A screech came from the other side of the clearing. Flintstar had pinned down Ashstar, and the silver she-cat's eyes were closing. Breath escaped her one last time and Flintstar hopped away from the dying cat. She still has more lives left, doesn't she? Thought Ambershine as she sprinted over to help Leapfur, who was fighting a black tom. Leaping onto the black cat's back, Ambershine raked his nose, sending him yowling away, blood splattering her face that was not her own. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a gruesome sight- Loudstream and Mudtail were being raked to bits by those most hurt by their killing. Shuddering. Ambershine hopped over to tackle another cat. Who it was, she didn't care, but the answer came to her in a tabby tom slashing her from the side. After a quick duel, her strength was no match for his speed and she sent him tumbling into the bushes. The former LightningClan prisoners appeared, giving the IceClan cats some backup. But it was all over. Acornfur and Ryeclaw burst into camp, ready to fight, but the IceClan cats had things under control. Seeing Ashstar rise from losing one of her lives, Ambershine was actually quite glad that she had more left, but something surprising happened. Cats from PineClan started attacking the silver tabby, including the apprentice Fawnpaw and Nutpaw.

"Is this what you want, Ashstar?" Jeered Vinespot as he jabbed a claw under his leader's chin. "To lead our one great Clan to war? To murder? Your looks will only do so much to keep your order here!" He hissed as he released his grasp of Ashstar, letting the once-pretty leader fall to the dusty ground.

"You will do what I say, for the leader's word is law," She rasped.

"Not Wisp's Law. Wisp deemed that code only necessary in dire circumstances. So did Pine Paws."

"You really believe they existed?" Spat Ashstar, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, we do!" Yowled Nutpaw, springing to to the vulnerable cat. By this time, the IceClan and LightningClan forces were watching Ashstar being ripped to shreds by her own warriors. Mudtail tried to get to his feet to stop this, but in doing that more blood rushed out of his gaping wounds and her shuttered down to the ground, gargling. Loudstream was already lying dead in the clearing, killed by those driven mad of grief. Before the warriors could do anything. Ashstar was lying on the ground, her nine lives of a leader all seeping out of her at once. Vinespot, the PineClan deputy, stepped out of the shadows.

"We surrender. Please give our Clan time to heal and regrow." He dipped his head respectfully to Flintstar and Blossomstar. "We will call back our spies from all of the other Clans immediately. Consider the pine grove yours, Flintstar. Blossomstar, the highlands were never ours to claim. Please forgive us, for we all fell to the seductions of this cat," the tom mewed solemnly as he flicked his tail to his former leader.

"Vinespot, Ashstar has done damage that no words will ever repair. Mudtail and Loudstream's actions can never be forgotten either, but we will give your Clan peace for many moons to come," Sighed Flintstar.

The PineClan medicine cat, Riversong emerged from his den. "Vinespot, it is time to recieve your nine lives and name at the falls," he said gently. Vinespot nodded as Flintstar signaled for his Clan to go. Blossomstar lead her patrol down the mountain, back to their territory.


	19. Chapter 19

**ALMOST DONE! Here's chapter 47. An epilouge is coming soon, probably tomorrow, but more likley today because I can't help myself.**

Back at camp, the warriors were greeted by happiness, although they were not quite pleased at the violence that unfolded. "Three dead, you say?" Brookfur mewed. "Two the wretched traitors and a leader?"  
But it was soon noted that something was missing. Cloverstem and her kit were gone. The whole Clan was stunned. What were they going to tell Blossomstar and LightningClan? They had sent Redclaw and Heronsky out to track the queen down but to no avail, as her scent was found near the South Side border, only to become dulled out by the oncoming blizzard.  
At a gathering, Blossomstar admitted that she wanted the kit to stay with IceClan, and if they ever found Cloverstem, then IceClan could have him. Vinespot received his nine lives at Moonfall a short two sunrises after the attack, becoming Vinestar and appointing a she-cat named Ivyfang as his deputy. PineClan was slowly rebuilding themselves the way that their founder, Pine Paws, would have wanted them to. Squirrelfeather found new strength to be the deputy and was alright to hold off on retiring until Ambershine and Acornfur had trained their apprentices.

 **Announcements before you click away!**

 **1\. The next book in the series is called Thunder Clash, 25,000 words are already written! (To put that in perspective, Brewing Storm in it's entirety is 36,000 words- ish.**

 **2\. There's a spin-off! The title is a minor spoiler, so I won't reveal it now. But it's coming.**

 **3\. Check out Girl With a Flower Crown's new story, The Battle That Never Ends, an AU where the Dark forest won and all cats are forced into a Warriors version of the Hunger Games every few moons. I submitted a tribute named Larksong and another charecter, and she just got a new chapter up today about ho the cat sponsership system will work.**

 **4\. (more of a question)- Would you guys like some Harry Potter or Star Wars fics? I've been writing a lot in those fandoms, aspecially with the release of The Last Jedi, so... opinions?**

 **Epilouge coming soon...**


End file.
